Harry Potter and the Magic Barrier
by saberwolf335
Summary: Story had a chapter missing (12) that has now been added and fixed. It's the summer after Harry's sixth year. He must now finish the task he started with Voldemort by finding and destroying the remaining horcruxes and end the war against Voldemort. But when an unknown stranger comes out of nowhere and offers to teach Harry a whole new way to defeat Voldemort everything changes.
1. After The Funeral

This is my first ever FF. I've posted it on another site before but am adding it here now. Please read and review, I always appreciate feedback, both good and bad.

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He had just done something he was already regretting only fifteen minutes after doing it, at the same time mentally kicking is own ass. Harry Potter was walking away from the funeral of his long time mentor Albus Dumbledore after telling his girlfriend Ginny that he couldn't be with her anymore so Voldemort wouldn't try to use her against him. Dumbledore had been the fifth person to die to because of him and third in the last three years and he was not going to allow Ginny to become the sixth one. Of course she tried telling him that she didn't care what Voldemort did and all she wanted was to be with him, but he couldn't allow himself to give in to her. He couldn't let that happen, he wouldn't let her get hurt because they were together, he would never be able to forgive himself for it. Shortly after he walked away Rufus Scrimgeour, the minister of magic, had walked up to him in an attempt to try to get Harry to tell him what he and Dumbledore had been up to the night Dumbledore was killed. But Harry had refused to tell him anything, what he and Dumbledore did was none of the minister's business. This caused the minister to walk away with a scowl. Harry continued to walk along the lake alone, his mind still focused on Ginny and what he had just done to her.

'She may have taken it well when I told her, but now she's probably fuming about it and cursing my name now that I'm not there anymore' Harry thought to himself. 'I just hope that eventually I'll be able to end this and she'll forgive me.'

He hated Voldemort more than ever right now. He wanted nothing more than to find him and charge him down right where he stood, even if he knew he would die from it, at least he'd be able to let all his steam out of his body that was fighting to be released. But at the moment he had no idea where Voldemort was, so all he could do was continue walking along the lake and hate him. He turned up towards the trees and stopped right next to one and just stared at it, not really seeing it at all. Then he couldn't hold it in anymore. He started screaming inside his mind and punched the tree again and again as fast as he could, letting out all his anger that was pounding against him.

"I will find you Voldemort, I will destroy the rest of your horcruxes and rid the world of you, you bloody bastard" Harry said out loud to himself. "I don't care if I go down with you, you have taken so much from me and you will eventually pay for every last thing you have done. Not only the things you've done to me, but the thousands of others that you have hurt and murdered. My mum, my dad, Cedric, Sirius, Dumbledore, and the thousands of other innocent people that are dead because of you. And not one of your precious Death Eaters will be spared. I'll hunt them down and kill them all one at a time if I have to."

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that Harry?" a voicefrom behind him said.

Harry came back to reality. He wasn't aware that he was talking out loud or that anyone had walked up behind him. He turned around to see Ron and Hermione standing a few feet from him, looking right at him, Hermione with a shocked look on her face.

"Harry, you need to be careful about this, you can't do anything careless," Hermione said in a worried voice. "We don't want you to get hurt."

"You don't want me to get HURT! Hermione, I don't give a damn if I get hurt anymore, I don't care if I DIE anymore. All I care about now is ridding the whole bloody world of that bastard," said Harry.

"Harry," Hermione shrieked.

"Don't start Hermione, that's exactly what he is and I'm going to make sure he bloody well pays," said Harry sounding like he didn't care if he was cursing right in front of a toddler.

"So what are you planning to do?" asked Ron.

"The first thing I need to do is complete the job I started doing with Dumbledore, find the rest of the horcruxes and destroy them," said Harry. "Once I do that then I'll take care of Voldemort himself."

"But what about our last year at Hogwarts?" asked Hermione.

"It's not important to me anymore, all that matters to me now is ridding the world of Voldemort," said Harry.

To his surprise Hermione smiled.

"I had a feeling you'd say something that, you're just too predictable Harry."

Harry let himself laugh a little bit at what Hermione had said.

"I sure hope I'm not, or else it'll be too easy for Voldemort to kill me when we face each other for the last time," Harry said smiling back at her. "But then again it can't be true, because if it was then he'd have been able to kill me a long time ago wouldn't he," he said still smiling.

"We're coming with you to find the rest of the horcruxes, and don't you even think that we're letting you do this alone, that would be suicide and you know it," said Ron.

Harry was about to start arguing for a second but he knew Ron was right. He'd known all along that they would say this eventually and there was no getting out of it.

"I guess I might as well just agree because I know I'm going to be overruled if I try to protest aren't I?" said Harry with a grin to his friend.

Ron and Hermione both nodded their heads without saying a word.

"Even if you didn't let us come with you we were going to follow you anyway, but this way makes it a lot easier with a lot less sparks flying," said Hermione.

Harry let another little laugh out as he thought about how lucky he was to have two such great and loyal friends who were willing to do almost anything for him.

"So what are we going to do about this situation, because it's a pretty big one and Hermione is right, we can't do anything careless," said Ron.

Harry suddenly realized he hadn't thought the whole situation through yet.

"Well I actually hadn't gone through the whole plan yet, there's been so much other stuff on my mind lately it's been hard to think about everything that needs to be done," said Harry.

Harry turned away and started to pace back and forth, thinking really hard about what they should do. After a few minutes of pacing and careful thinking he turned back to them and took up a serious tone.

"Okay, we're not going to be able to go anywhere until after my birthday so that we'll all be of age. You two already are but we'll have to wait until I am too, and so I can pass my apparation test because I'll definitely need to be able to do that. In the meantime while we wait we should try to keep doing research like I was doing with Dumbledore to see if we can find any kind of clues to where the rest of the horcruxes may be. Things like places Voldemort may have been fond with in the past that he may have hid them, or other objects that may be horcruxes if we're wrong about any of our theories right now, and I think that maybe we should all apply to join the Order. If we're part of the Order then we could always have a better way to know where Voldemort is and what he's planning at all times, even though we'll be using the majority of our time working on the horcruxes. And I also believe it would be best if nobody but the three of us knew about the horcruxes and that we're going to be going out after them. I don't want to take a single chance of anyone finding out about what we're up to, not even Ginny. It's not that I don't trust her and the Order, but if nobody knows about it but us, then the chance of Voldemort or his Death Eaters somehow finding out what we're up to is close to absolute zero."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other and had a silent 10 second thinking session with each other, then turned back and nodded in agreement.

"I'm going to go back to the Dursley's one more time, but I won't be staying long. I'll probably be there a week at the very most. I'm only going to go back this last time because I know it's what Dumbledore would have wanted me to. Then we can all lie low at the Burrow while I wait to turn 17 and take my apparation test, then after that we start looking for the horcruxes."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other for a moment without saying anything, as if they were telepathically agreeing with what Harry was saying.

"Sounds good to me," said Ron looking back at Harry.

"Me too," Hermione agreed.

Wanting to be alone for a little while longer to think about other things Harry asked Ron and Hermione to leave for a minute, but told them he'd be back shortly.

"You go on Hermione, I need to talk to Harry about something else real quick," said Ron. Hermione nodded her head and walked back towards the castle, leaving them alone. "Now I can ask you this myself Harry, what did you do to my sister?" he asked, and Harry could hear a little anger in his voice. "I saw her running up to the castle crying after you walked away from her and that's a sign that you did something to her."

Harry let his face sink back into the ground as his mind wandered back to Ginny and what he had done a little more than a half hour ago. "I told her we can't be together," said Harry. "If Voldemort learns that we're together he'll use her to get to me, and I'd never be able to live with myself because of that."

"So you thought breaking her heart would make it all better?" asked Ron. "Doing what you did to her is only going to tear her up even more and probably make her want to die anyway. Do you think she waited for you to fall for her for almost five years so she could lose you after only a few weeks?"

Harry was now staring at Ron with disbelief. This couldn't be the same Ron that he knew was supposed to be super overprotective of his little sister. This had to be an imposter that had drank some polyjuice potion.

"Since when do you approve of me and Ginny being together?" asked Harry, looking at Ron as if he'd just sprouted an extra set of ears.

"Hey now, of course I still look out for my sister, but I'm not as thick as Hermione tells me I am almost every day. I can see that you two love each other and it doesn't matter what I think anymore because Hermione's right, she's a big girl now and I need to let her make her own decisions and stop trying to pry my way into her life."

Harry was shocked at what he was hearing. Never did he think he'd live to see the day where Ron would admit that he needed to stay out of his baby sister's life and let her do what she wanted. Looking back at the ground he let his face sink back into it.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't, I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to her," said Harry.

Ron just shook his head and frowned.

"I'm just going to leave now and pray that someday you'll realize that nobody is safe anymore and she's going to be in danger whether you're with her or not," said Ron turning away.

As Ron turned to walk back towards the castle Harry sat down by the tree and put his head in his hands. Had he done the right thing? Would Ginny be safer if he stayed away from her? After all Snape and Malfoy had known they were together so maybe Voldemort already learned about them being together through one of them. Maybe he just didn't know what was right anymore. Maybe he'd never know the right thing to do in a relationship and he'd just be alone and single his life. But he wouldn't let that get to him now, he wouldn't allow himself to think about anything that might put Ginny's life in more danger than it already was. Deciding that he'd better get back to the castle himself before it started to get dark he got up and started walking back. But before he could even take 10 steps back down the lake someone in the trees called out to him.

"Do you really think you're ready to take on the Dark Lord?"

Harry turned around quickly pulling out his wand to see who had spoken to him. Someone was standing underneath the trees looking right at him but he couldn't see who it was, the shadows completely covered him from the knees up.

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Hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Reviews are always welcome and appreciated.


	2. A Stranger And A New Strategy

Once again reviews after reading are always appreciated.

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The man stayed standing in the shadows of the trees where Harry couldn't see his face, but he kept his wand out ready for anything. Harry's full attention was on trying to see who this man was he didn't notice a large transparent dome with a radius of about 50 feet appear all around him and this stranger going straight into the ground.

"Who are you and what do you want?" asked Harry. "And what do you mean by asking me if I'm ready to fight Voldemort?" Suddenly Harry realized that this man could have been listening in on him, Ron, and Hermione a few minutes ago. "Were you spying on me and my friends?"

"No I was not spying; I didn't hear what you and your friends were talking about, but I didn't really need to to know what it was about. And I think what I asked was pretty clear, I don't think I could have phrased my question any other way without it being obvious to about what I was asking," the stranger said sounding like he felt completely unthreatened.

"What do you want?" asked Harry.

"To find out what you're really capable of, if you think you can defeat Voldemort with your current skills then you should be able to beat me with absolutely no difficulty," said the stranger.

Harry was confused. Who was this man and what was he talking about. Was he someone that could be trusted or was he some kind of spy for Voldemort. But he didn't even have a wand out and he was talking to him like he was some kind of student of his.

"Lumos," said Harry trying to light the tip of his wand, but it didn't work. Harry looked at his wand confused; illuminating a wand was the easiest spell to do in the wizarding world, why wasn't it working? But just as he was about to try again the stranger stepped out of the shadows to reveal himself.

He looked like he was in his mid-20s. He had short black hair and was a little taller than six feet tall, but Harry could tell right away that this man was someone that was obviously very strong. He had never seen anyone so built, his biceps looked like oversized bludgers and you could see even with his shirt on that he had a built chest and a hard six pack. He was wearing some kind of training robe that looked like those things Harry knew muggles wore that were martial artists.

"Who are you?" Harry asked him for a second time.

"I'm afraid that I cannot tell you my name at this time, so you might as well just leave it at that because you're not going to find out right now. But I will tell you that I know who you are and your mission," said the man. This caused Harry to glare right at the man. How could he know what his mission was. "I'm here because no matter what you may think, you are not capable of defeating Voldemort with your current skills. He is way too powerful for you even with everything you have learned and all the loved ones you have behind you. Yes the love you have for all your friends and everyone else is very powerful but it still isn't enough when you compare your skills to Voldemort's. But I can show you a way to fight that Voldemort does not know how to fight against along with the rest of his supporters."

"What magic is there that Voldemort doesn't know about or understand, other than love?" asked Harry.

"Magic? I don't recall saying anything about magic," the man said keeping his voice completely calm.

"What do you mean, how can anything but some kind of magic defeat Voldemort?" asked Harry.

"That's what everyone else in the wizarding world thinks and that's also why nobody has beaten him yet, they think of the wrong ways to try to beat him." When Harry continues to look confused the stranger looked to his right. "Let me demonstrate, I got five galleons in my pocket saying you can't do so much as summon that branch over there on the ground into your hand," the man said pointing to his right.

Harry was really confused now; a summoning charm was child's play to him these days. He'd summoned his Firebolt from over a mile away in his fourth year during the Triwizard Tournament, how could he not be able to summon a little branch sitting about ten feet away from him. Shrugging to himself Harry turned and pointed his wand at the branch.

"Accio branch," said Harry pointing at the branch. But to his surprise nothing happened. "Accio branch," Harry repeated pointing his wand again. Again nothing happened. "What the hell is going on?" Harry said pointing his wand at the man again.

"You're telling me you couldn't summon that branch yet you think that you can still defeat me?" the man said. "Well let's just see what kind of reflexes you have and how fast you can think." The man then started to walk towards Harry.

"Hey what are you doing, stay away from me, I'm warning you," Harry said now sounding scared.

The man didn't even slow down or flinch; he kept advancing towards Harry as if he hadn't said anything to him. Harry started to back away a little bit but kept his wand pointed at the stranger. As the man got closer Harry was starting to feel threatened.

"Petrificus totalus," Harry said trying to bind his body, but nothing happened at all. The man just frowned and shook his head while he kept advancing towards him. "Petrificus totalus," Harry repeated with his voice sounding more scared, once again nothing happened. Harry didn't see where he was going as he backed away that he stepped on a small rock and stumbled almost falling on his back. When he got his balance back the man was only about three feet from him. Forgetting about magic he dropped his wand and threw a punch at the man with his right arm. The man reacted so fast that Harry almost didn't even see him move. He effortlessly grabbed his arm in midair and spun underneath it flipping Harry onto his back and grabbed his other arm, pinning him down so that he couldn't move.

"So is that how you plan to defeat Voldemort when you face him when the time comes for one of you to die?" asked the man. "Because if it is then I don't think the odds of you coming out victorious are in your favor."

Harry didn't know what to say, he didn't have any idea what was going on. Why wouldn't his wand work, nothing like this had ever happened before, even in his first year when he didn't know a thing about magic he still could do magic at times when he got angry or scared even if he didn't know what he was doing. The spells he'd attempted to cast should have been some of the simplest things for him now, yet with nothing happening his wand might as well of been used as a drum stick.

"What do you want with me?" Harry said looking up at the man. "Are you a Death Eater?"

This caused the man to frown, but he also loosened his grip on Harry's arms. "No. I would use the killing curse on myself before I swore allegiance to that murdering bastard," said the man. "I will never follow in the path of my mother."

"What, your mother is a Death Eater," said Harry gaping up at the man.

"Yes, I'm sorry and ashamed to say that she is," said the man as he let Harry loose completely. "I'd always known that my mother was a supporter of Voldemort ever since I was just a little kid, but I never was like her. She wanted me to follow her and become a Death Eater along with her, but I told her I would never follow in her tracks and murder innocent people. I ended up running away and going to school in Asia. But before I left I did learn of Voldemort's horcruxes through my mother and other Death Eaters, and like everyone else in the wizarding world I know all about how you defeated him when you were only a year old. I ran away from England two years before you were born when I was only seven and lived in an orphanage in China."

Harry was now back on his feet and staring at the man as if he had never seen another human before, but listening to his story, anxious to hear more. The stranger had captured his whole attention.

"Ever since I left I've tried to think of a way to defeat Voldemort and the rest of the Death Eaters, including my own mother, because as far as I'm concerned I am not related to that woman. But I was never able to think of anything that seemed to be able to work...until about a year ago."

"You know a way that can defeat Voldemort?" asked Harry making sure he heard the man right.

"Yes I believe I do," said the man. "I invented a spell that can create a magical barrier and anyone inside it is totally unable to use magic, just look around you."

Harry looked around and for the first time noticed the large dome that he was inside. Realizing what the man had said this barrier did he quickly realized why his wand hadn't worked a minute ago.

"So that's why my wand didn't work, because I'm inside this barrier," Harry said out loud more to himself than the man. "But how did you do this, I've never heard of any spell that can create a anti-magical barrier."

"Of course you wouldn't have, because I invented it just recently and I haven't shared it with anyone until now. About a year ago I had almost given up on trying to come up with a strategy to defeat Voldemort, deciding that no kind of magic could conquer him, but then that's when I realized it, there isn't any magic that is capable of beating him, so I had to think of a way to fight him that didn't involve magic. It all seemed to start making sense, Voldemort and his supporters rely on magic so much they wouldn't know anything about muggle fighting, and they also wouldn't find muggle fighting as any kind of threat because magic is so much more superior to it. So that's when I realized it, if Voldemort could somehow be separated from magic then he would be totally powerless. So from then on I tried to design a spell that would render magic totally useless and make him vulnerable. It took me a whole year to make my spell perfect and complete. I had to make sure every kind of magic would be totally unusable, even the simplest spells known in the world, and that the barrier would be completely impenetrable so that whoever was in it couldn't just walk out of it and use magic again. Only the witch or wizard that created the barrier can walk through it and they are also the only ones that can remove it."

Harry was at a loss for words. This man had invented a spell that made magic totally useless and his mother was a Death Eater, and he was sharing all this with him.

"But just designing my spell was half of what I needed to do. I also needed to learn to fight like a muggle. So I traveled into the muggle world and learned martial arts in Hong Kong when I wasn't working on my spell. I trained every day and didn't take a single day off, I was determined to become the best fighter I could be because I would need to be able to fight possibly many people at once, because as you know Voldemort has more than just a couple followers. About a month ago I completed my training and came back to England to put the next step of my plan into full effect."

"And what would that be?" asked Harry getting more interested in this by the minute.

"Teach you the spell I invented and how to fight like a muggle," he replied.

"What. But why do you need to teach me this stuff, you seem like you're more than capable of doing it yourself," said Harry.

"No, I must teach you my spell and martial arts, because you are the only one that can defeat Voldemort," said the man. This caused Harry's eyes to open wider. Did he mean what he thought he meant. He kept talking as if he had read Harry's mind. "Yes I know of the prophecy, but I cannot tell you anything else right now. Right now your mission is to find and destroy the remaining horcruxes so that is what your mind must be on. After you complete your mission I will teach you my spell and how to fight without magic. For now I must go, but you will see me again in the future when it is time for me to start your training. Until then I'll say goodbye." He turned to start walking away but stopped and turned back. "Oh and one more thing, I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone that you have met me, I do not wish to be discovered yet, if the wrong people found out I was back in England it could lead to a lot of trouble, so keep this meeting between just the two of us."

The man pulled a wand out of his training robe, waved it once, and the barrier disappeared. Then with a pop he was gone.

Harry just stood rooted to the spot, totally oblivious to the world around him. A man with a mother for a Death Eater had just told him that he could teach him a way to make magic useless and how to fight like a muggle, but it would have to wait. Who was that man, and who was his mother that he said was a Death Eater, could he really be trusted? Suddenly Harry noticed that it had started to get dark and that he better get back to the castle before everyone started to worry, so he started back towards the castle, still thinking about the man and what he had said.

"This could change the plan I just made with Ron and Hermione earlier," Harry said to himself.

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Hope you're enjoying the story so far, reviews are always appreciated.


	3. Kiss And Make Up

This is where Ginny is first put into the story. Please review after reading.

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Harry walked back to the castle barely noticing where he was going. His mind was completely back at the lake where he had just met that stranger. When he arrived at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower he didn't even address the Fat Lady as he gave her the password (rose petals). He walked into the common room totally oblivious to Ron and Hermione's greetings.

"There you are. What took you so long? You said you would only be a minute and we were starting to wonder if you were even coming back," said Ron.

Harry didn't even appear to hear him, he just sat on one of the sofas and looked at the rug in front of the fire still thinking.

"Er, Harry, you okay mate?" asked Ron. Harry still didn't answer. "Hey Harry, anybody home?" said Ron waving his hands in Harry's face.

"What, oh yeah, sorry," said Harry. "It's just all so confusing right now," he added quickly before they could ask him why he was acting like this.

"I know, I don't think it's ever been this hard on anybody, everything is going to be so much different now," said Hermione sitting in the armchair across from Harry.

Harry picked his head up and was about to tell them about what had just happened after they left but then remembered that the man had said he didn't want anyone to know about him yet, so instead he tried to steer the subject to their plans over the summer.

"So what time are we going to be leaving tomorrow?" asked Harry.

"First thing in the morning after breakfast, so we need to make sure we get all our stuff packed tonight so we're not rushing around trying to do it all tomorrow," said Hermione.

"Part of me doesn't want to go. Now that we've all agreed that we won't be coming back next year it makes me wonder whether we'll ever see Hogwarts again," said Ron.

"I know, I'm really going to miss it too," said Hermione. "Ever since we first got here in first year and I first found out I was a witch I've waited to take my N.E.W.T.s and graduate from here. And now it's hard to tell if that's ever going to happen, because when you're in a war there's never any guarantee of what's going to happen."

Harry didn't say anything on this subject. It was true he would miss Hogwarts just like his friends, maybe even more than them considering that he didn't really have a home away from Hogwarts. As much as he knew he was welcome at the Burrow he still didn't have a home where his biological family was happy to have him. 'Just another thing to make my life perfect,' Harry thought to himself.

"I only wish it didn't have to be this way," said Harry.

At that moment Ginny came down the stairs of the girls dormitory in her dressing gown. Harry looked up and smiled at her, but as soon as she saw him she turned around and went straight back up the stairs and Harry was certain that he heard her start to cry as she turned around. This caused Harry to put his head back down and sigh to himself. He was wondering about what he should do about his situation with her but Hermione seemed to have read his mind before he could even start thinking.

"Harry, pushing her away like you did is never going to keep her safe, not matter how much you think it will," said Hermione. Harry looked up at her, if there was one person that knew what to say about any situation, it was Hermione. "She told me what you did after the funeral and I agree with her, she's not in any more danger with you than she is if she's not with you. She doesn't care if she becomes a big target of Voldemort, she wants to fight alongside you, and she loves you."

Harry snapped his head up and looked right at Hermione.

"She does." Hermione nodded. "How can she love me after what I just did to her, shouldn't she hate me now," said Harry.

"Harry I don't think you realize just how strong Ginny's feeling for you are. I honestly think she cares about you more than anyone else in your life, more than Sirius did, more than Dumbledore did, even more than your parents did. I asked her what she thought of what you did and she told me that she thought it was completely stupid and noble. She would gladly die for you, and that if she does end up dying in this war she would rather it be fighting by your side and in your arms then with the broken heart she has now. You need her Harry. You know that love is the power that you have that Voldemort does not, and she loves you more than anything. Can you honestly tell me that you don't love her too?"

"Of course I do, more than my own life. I'd do anything for her, anything at all," said Harry.

"Then don't push her away like you are, because it's just going to make it harder on yourself too," said Ron. "Show her that you really do love her, pushing her away doesn't seem to be a very good way of showing how much you care about her."

Harry's brain was really starting to get sore. There was just too much thinking he was doing today, from having to decide on how to break up with Ginny earlier at the funeral, to the plan he'd made with Ron and Hermione on how they'd hunt the horcruxes, to meeting the stranger and what he'd said to him, and now trying to decide if he really made the right decision in breaking up with Ginny. But after hearing his friends say that Ginny loved him, really loved him, and that he needed her more than anything, he knew they were right. He secretly had been hoping that somehow he'd be talked out of it and that seemed to have happened just now.. So smiling to himself he stood up and hugged them both.

"You guys are right, I do need her, just as much as she needs me," said Harry feeling happy for the first time all day. "I'll talk to her first thing in the morning on the train. But right now we'd better get our things packed up so we won't miss the train tomorrow."

Hermione said good night to the boys and turned to go upstairs to the girls dormitory. As Harry and Ron walked to their own dormitory Ron turned towards Harry and spoke again.

"You better not ever do anything like that to my sister again, otherwise you'll be wishing you could fight you-know-who right now, because instead you'll have her six big brothers coming for you," said Ron cheekily.

"Don't worry Ron, I don't intend to ever leave her again," said Harry smiling at his friend. "And you really need to start saying his name, by fearing his name you're just letting him control your life, and that makes it that much easier for him to kill you if he wants to."

"I know I shouldn't be afraid to say it, but it's just so hard after everything he's done and knowing what he can do to you," said Ron. "I really don't like it but I'll try to say his name for now on, but that still doesn't mean I like saying it."

"Oh and another thing, what about your own love life, are you ever going to tell Hermione how you feel about her," said Harry smirking at Ron.

"Shut up Harry, what makes you think I even like her," said Ron frowning.

"Don't kid yourself mate, anyone with eyes and a brain can see that you two like each other, you just need to stop living in denial and say it to her," said Harry shaking his head.

Ron tried to stay strong but sighed looking down.

"But what if she doesn't have the same feelings for me," he said looking out the window.

"Ron, I doubt that she has feelings like that for anyone but you, you just need to talk to her and I promise that you'd be happier than you'd ever been," said Harry putting a hand on Ron's shoulder. "At least say you'll try to talk to her."

"Okay, I'll try, but I don't know what I'll say," said Ron leaning over his trunk. "Let's just get our stuff together for now."

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The next day Harry, Ron, and Hermione woke rather earlier than they usually did. They quickly got their stuff and went to breakfast. After some quick bagels and pumpkin juice they made their way down to Hogsmeade and the Hogwarts Express. Walking onto the train they started looking for an empty compartment and found one about halfway down the train. They walked in and put all their stuff in the luggage rack when Harry saw Ginny walk by, and to his delight she was alone, just as he was hoping she would be, as it would make this a lot easier. Looking at Ron and Hermione he gave them both a nod which they returned with a smile and headed out of the compartment with his mind set on putting Ginny's heart back together. He saw her walk into a compartment about ten doors down and walked up to it and walked in behind her.

"Hi Ginny," Harry said smiling. Ginny looked up at him and frowned.

"What do you want, you already broke my heart and I don't want to see you right now," said Ginny, and Harry could see a tear swelling up in her eye.

"Ginny can I please just talk to you," asked Harry closing the compartment door.

"No, I have nothing to say to you, nothing you have to say could make me feel any better, so just leave," said Ginny turning her back on him, sitting down and looking out the window.

"I really think you should listen to what I have to say," said Harry sitting down opposite her.

"And why's that," said Ginny not looking at him.

"Because I'm here to take the hundred pieces of your heart I broke and put them back together to make it one piece again," said Harry still smiling at her.

Ginny's eyes snapped onto Harry and he could see that her mood had instantly changed from angry to hopeful.

"Listen Ginny, I was wrong to break up with you yesterday after the funeral, I was a prat and it was the stupidest thing I could have possibly done. I realized last night that I need all the love and support I can get in order to get through this war and by pushing away the person I love more than anything, even my own life, is the quickest way to lower my chances of defeating Voldemort. I'm sorry Ginny and I want to make it up to you, will you forgive me and take me back into your life?"

Ginny's eyes suddenly got all puffy as she tried to hold back her tears. She launched herself into Harry's arms threw her own around his neck. Harry wrapped his own around her waist and held her close to him. They pulled back a little bit and Harry moved his mouth in close to kiss her. They shared a few moments of pure passion and love, totally forgetting about the world around them, all that mattered to them at that moment was the two of them being with each other. After what seemed to them like an hour but was really only about 15 seconds, they broke apart and rested their foreheads against each other and looked into each other's eyes, seeing the love they had for each other.

"Of course I'll take you back Harry, but only if you promise me you'll never try to push me away from you again," said Ginny. "Because if you do then next time I'll just have to handcuff our arms together and put a permanent sticking charm on them."

Harry laughed at her last comment. "I promise love," and he kissed her again. "I love you."

"I love you too Harry, more than life itself. Now I think we have a day to make up for since I was quite alone Yesterday," said Ginny smiling suggestively at him, pulling out her wand and putting a locking charm on the door and causing the shade to pull down so nobody could peek in at them.

"Well how did you want to make up for missing Yesterday," Harry said smiling back at her and raising his eyebrows up and down.

"By you proving to me that you love me like you just said you do," Ginny said leaning in to kiss him again, but stopping just short before their lips touched.

"But what if your nosy brother comes looking for us," Harry said still smiling at her. "He might want to kill me himself if he found us here like this." As he spoke he moved his hands up the back of her shirt and rubbed her smooth back, feeling his palms get warmer as he rubbed her smooth skin.

"Then he'll be running around the train with bat-bogeys around his head the whole ride home, he needs to leave me the hell alone and mind his own damn business."

Harry then remembered about Ron telling him down by the lake Yesterday that he was indeed going to try to stay out of Ginny's personal business and smiled at the thought.

The rest of the time they were on the train they spent making up for a whole day lost, most of it involving them laying on the floor in their compartment with their hands roaming each other's body. To them just a few hours apart from each other was too long.

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	4. Leaving Hell On Earth Forever

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As the train pulled into King's Cross Harry woke up and smiled at Ginny who was sleeping snuggled up to him. As he relived the last few hours he spent with her after she took him back, he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. Suddenly he could hear a lot of commotion outside and as he looked out the window he noticed that they were arriving back in London so he gently shook Ginny to wake her up.

"Love, we're there, we need to wake up now," Harry whispered in her ear.

"Mmmnnn, I don't want to wake up right now, I like being close to you like this," Ginny said half asleep and snuggling up closer to him, if that was possible.

Harry let a small laugh out of him as he put his arm around her so he could enjoy her closeness for one more minute. They ended up lying there for another four minutes before Harry picked his head up and heard people outside their compartment shuffling off the train to their families.

"Ginny we really need to go, otherwise everyone is going to come looking for us," said Harry. "I don't want to move any more than you want to, but we'll have plenty more opportunities to be together when I get to the Burrow next week."

With a groan of disappointment Ginny got up and got her stuff as Harry took her hand and walked out of the compartment. Harry quickly checked back to the compartment Ron and Hermione were in to make sure they got his stuff for him before walking off the train and onto platform 9 3/4. When they found Ron and Hermione they found Mrs. Weasley already there. She hugged Harry when he walked up and gave him a kiss on the cheek that a mother usually gives her son.

"Harry dear, are you sure you want to go back to your aunt and uncle's house first, you know you can come with us right now if you want," said Mrs. Weasley.

"I know Mrs. Weasley, but I really think I should go back to Private Drive one last time, I know Dumbledore would have wanted me too, but I'll only be there for about a week, then I can leave that place forever and come to my real home."

"Well then let's hope that week goes by quickly so you can come to us," Mrs. Weasley said smiling to him.

Harry kissed Ginny good bye and hugged both Ron and Hermione before walking over to where Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were waiting for him. They didn't even acknowledge that he had walked up to him; they just got into the car without looking at him. Harry didn't care though; he liked it when they didn't say anything to him. He just put his trunk in the back and slid into the backseat and nobody said anything the whole time they were in the car.

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A week had passed since Harry got back to Private Drive and as he had planned, he would be leaving the next day after only a week of staying with his aunt and uncle. So the night before he left for the Burrow he started collecting everything he owned and sent Hedwig on her way so she could meet him at the Burrow, with a note attached saying that he was ready to leave whenever they were ready to come get him. Harry had told his aunt and uncle that he would be leaving forever after only a week and they simply told them of how glad they would be to be rid of his "freakish ways" forever. Harry just scowled at them and told them that at least his "real" family actually liked having him around before leaving the room.

The morning Harry was supposed to leave for the Burrow he realized that he didn't know how he was going to be getting there, nobody had told him, but he was sure that someone would be coming by later that day to pick him up. He just stayed in his room all morning, not even going down to breakfast, listening for any sign of someone arriving to take him away from this place he considered Hell on Earth. It was a little before noon that he heard his uncle call from down the stairs.

"BOY, GET DOWN HERE NOW!" he heard Uncle Vernon call.

"Don't you shout at him like that, he's done nothing to deserve that," said a voice Harry had no trouble recognizing.

"That boy has been ungrateful of everything we ever did for him you little tart," Harry heard Uncle Vernon say and felt his anger quickly rise. Nobody had any right to talk to his girlfriend like that. "Never did he once show us any gratitude for everything we did for him."

"Well that's not very surprising," Harry heard Ginny say from the door, her voice also rising with anger. "Why would anyone be grateful for being treated like a slave? Putting locks on his bedroom door and bars on his windows. Treating him like he was a piece of dung all the time and never giving him a childhood he could enjoy and remember. You people don't deserve anything from him."

Once he heard her he grabbed his trunk, ran down the stairs two at a time dragging it, dropping it at the foot of the stairs and scooping Ginny right into his arms and kissed her, not caring that his uncle was right there and was looking right at them.

"Boy, I don't want to see any of that in my house," said Uncle Vernon.

"Turn your fat arse around then and you won't have to see it," Harry said looking at him with all the hatred he could muster.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME BOY," his uncle yelled.

"I'm pretty sure that I said turn your fat arse around," Harry said again not even flinching at his uncle's yelling. "Or better yet I'll just grab my stuff and leave you and your pathetic excuse for a family forever. And if I ever hear you call my girlfriend a tart again I will not hesitate to let her curse you into the next century. So for the last time I'll be leaving and not coming back, meaning I can finally say what I've waited almost sixteen years to say, kiss my arse you son of a bitch," said Harry grabbing his stuff in one hand and Ginny's hand in his other and walking out the door, leaving a stunned Uncle Vernon standing in the hallway.

"Sorry about that Ginny, but I've waited so long to say that to him and I just couldn't resist," said Harry stopping in the driveway.

Ginny simply put her arms around his neck and kissed him again. "No worries love, I know how they've been horrible to you for so long and I think you told them exactly what they deserved to hear. Actually I think you should have said more than that."

Harry smiled at her and kissed her again, this time with more passion as he held her close to him.

"How did you know about the locks on my door and the bars that used to be on my window," asked Harry. "I never told you about those."

"Fred and George told me about them after they came to rescue you with Ron back in your second year," said Ginny. "I couldn't believe anybody other than Voldemort could be so cruel to somebody like that."

Harry smiled and kissed her one more time before stepping back and looking around.

"So how are we getting to the Burrow, and why are you the one here to get me, not that I'm complaining," asked Harry.

Harry became a little worried when Ginny put her head down with a guilty look on her face.

"Well, I wasn't supposed to be the one coming to get you, but I wanted to surprise you so I snuck the portkey from the kitchen that dad was going to use to come here and came and got you myself. Now we just need to get out of site so we can use it to get back there."

Harry looked at her like she had become an angel.

"Ginny, you're starting to act more and more like my dad and Sirius every day, breaking rules and not caring about what the punishments for your actions will be, it makes me love you even more."

"Well I guess it's a good thing then," said Ginny stepping closer to him and running her fingers through his hair scratching his scalp, sending a pleasant shiver down Harry's spine.

"Well let's get out of here so I can put this place out of my mind forever and get to my real home, with you, Ron, Hermione, and the rest of your family," said Harry.

With that they ducked behind a rose bush making sure nobody was around, Ginny held out the portkey, Harry touched it with Ginny, and he saw Hell on Earth disappear for the last time.

They reappeared right in the living room of the Burrow and landed on top of each other, Ginny on top. They smiled at each other when they noticed how they had landed and just became lost in each other. Ginny ran her hand through Harry's hair again and Harry rubbed her back with both hands.

"Okay if you're going to get all close like that can you take it somewhere more private," said Ron looking down at them.

"Sod off Ron," said Ginny.

"Well I'm sorry but I don't want to be seeing my best mate and sister making out right in the middle of the living room, and besides mum and dad want to talk to you Ginny, and I have a feeling it's about you taking the portkey to go get Harry."

"Well then maybe we can spend some time alone together later," said Ginny kissing Harry on both cheeks, getting up and walking to the kitchen.

Ron helped Harry to his feet and he grabbed his stuff and took it up to Ron's room.

They walked back downstairs talking about whatever came to mind and back into the living room. Ginny walked back in and sat down next to Harry and snuggled up to him.

"Mum and dad said that I have to degnome the garden every day for the next week for taking the portkey, but as far as I'm concerned it was worth it to be the first one to see you, and I know that you'll help me with it anyway," said Ginny.

"Wow wow wow, what makes you think I'm going to help degnome the garden," Harry said though he was pretty sure he knew what she would say.

"Because if you don't then you don't get to kiss me until the week is over and I stop being mad at you for you not helping me," Ginny said simply leaning into him but stopping just short of his lips when they were about an inch apart.

"Okay then, although I was going to help you anyway, but I couldn't make it that easy for you," Harry said smirking at her.

Ginny lightly smacked his arm and leaned her head on his shoulder and rested there.

As the day went by more people showed up for a meeting Harry learned that was going to happen with the Order tonight, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione (who also arrived later that day) had decided that they would use this meeting to tell everyone they wanted to join the fight. So after dinner all the Order members were gathering around and everyone else left, but the three stayed behind.

"How many times do we need to tell you three you can't be in here while the meeting is going on," said Mrs. Weasley.

"Actually we plan to be a part of all meetings for now on," said Harry.

Everyone turned to look at the three with confused looks on their faces.

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	5. Joining The Fight

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"What do you mean you'll be apart of all meetings for now on?" asked Mrs. Weasley. When neither Harry, Ron, or Hermione answered it dawned on Mrs. Weasley what they meant by what Harry said.

"If your intention is to join the Order it's out of the question, you're still not done with school, even if Ron and Hermione are now of age and Harry will be in a month. Only those of age and finished with school may join."

She reacted almost exactly as Harry had expected her to, and he was ready for it.

"Mrs. Weasley, you might as well just let us join because we're not going back to school even if it does reopen and our mission in life now is to rid the world of Voldemort and his supporters, and the best way for us to fight is to be apart of the Order, otherwise we wouldn't have as much knowledge as we need," said Harry.

A few moments of silence passed as Mrs. Weasley stared at Harry carefully picking her words.

"Harry you know I think of you as a son but-

"But this is about more than that," said Harry before she could try to override him. "My only mission right now is to fight Voldemort and the best way for us to do that is to be apart of the Order so that we know what's going on with him and what he's planning at all times. You see, I'm the only one that can defeat Voldemort." Harry then told them about the prophecy and how Dumbledore had shown it to him at the end of his fifth year and how they had been having private lessons all last year. He left out the part about the horcruxes and how he, Ron, and Hermione were going to be going after them whenever they could in secret.

When he finished talking everyone around the kitchen was staring at him with their jaws hanging down.

"Harry, I don't know what to say, for someone your age to have this kind of weight on your shoulders," said Mrs. Weasley and Harry could see her eyes start to get a little puffy.

"So Dumbledore gave you a mission to do before he died and you need to finish it now alone," asked Mr. Weasley.

"Yes, Dumbledore and I had started investigating on a big secret of Voldemort's (everyone flinches) and we found out incredibly valuable information on him. But he only wanted me to share it with Ron and Hermione and I have no intension of violating his wishes. I wish that I was never given this fate, but I was and I need all the help I can get in making sure that I fulfill the prophecy. I'm going to be following through with my mission whether I'm allowed to join or not, but if you let me join then my chances of victory will increase greatly and it'll give me a lot more allies." 'Plus there's the training that man wanted to give me for when I actually face off against Voldemort,' Harry thought to himself.

The adults looked around at each other before they all put their heads together and took a minute to discuss what they should do. Harry looked over to Ron and Hermione and they nodded to him for encouragement. Harry couldn't hear what the others were saying but he could have sworn he heard at least two "I think we should let them join" come from the circle. After about five minutes they all separated and turned back to them. Harry held his breathe as he waited for someone to speak.

"We have decided that you will be allowed to join, but only if you all agree to follow some very important rules," said Mrs. Weasley. Harry nodded his head to show that he understood and kept quiet to hear the rules, which he had also been expecting. "First, we don't want you going off anywhere trying to do anything careless, you will always be required to tell at least one member of the Order where you three are at all times, and who you're with. And secondly, you are not to tell anyone not in the Order about what goes on at meetings, not even Ginny." Harry saw Mrs. Weasley give him a knowing look at the mention of Ginny, but he knew that he wouldn't be allowed to tell her anything so it wasn't that shocking.

Harry looked over to Ron and Hermione and they both nodded again showing that they agreed.

"Okay, we all agree, thank you Mrs. Weasley," said Harry.

"Harry dear, we've known you long enough and you're old enough to talk to us like adults now, call me Molly," said Molly.

"And you may call me Arthur now as well Harry," said Arthur smiling.

Harry smiled and nodded to them. "So shall we get on with this meeting then," said Harry.

"Yes, we have a lot to talk about tonight so pull up a chair," said Professor McGonagall.

An hour later after the meeting was over Harry, Ron, and Hermione left the kitchen in complete silence, having promised that they wouldn't speak of anything from meetings unless they were alone. They walked up to Ron's room and closed the door and Hermione put a silencing charm around it.

"You know we're going to have to tweak that promise we made a little bit if we're going to go after the horcruxes," said Harry.

"I know, but we'll have to be really careful and make sure nobody notices us sneaking off and we won't be able to stay anywhere, we'll only be able to go at night and make sure we're back before anybody notices we're gone," said Hermione.

"I swear this situation keeps getting heavier every day, with Dumbledore being gone, Ginny taking me back, planning to go after the horcruxes, now being members of the Order, me meeting-" Harry stopped quickly before he could reveal his meeting with the stranger and what he planned to teach him. Thankfully neither Ron nor Hermione noticed him stutter.

"I know, it's like the moon was pulled down onto our shoulders," said Ron.

"Well I guess we should start trying to figure out what we can about the remaining horcruxes and where they may be," said Harry. "It's safe to say that we know Voldemort himself will be last and we know Nagini is always with him so we'll have to take him out whenever we find them, which probably won't be until the final battle, so we should focus on finding the real Slytherin locket and Hufflepuff's cup, and something of Ravenclaw's. Then we'll worry about Voldemort and his pest."

The next few weeks were spent trying to find anything on Voldemort's past, where the horcruxes may be, anything they could pick up in Order meetings, and of course Harry spending time with Ginny whenever he could so she wouldn't feel left out. Harry had indeed helped her degnome the garden all week like he said he would, there was no way he'd be able to go for any amount of time not being allowed to kiss her. Harry had told her that he, Ron and Hermione had been allowed to join the Order but they had promised that they wouldn't tell anything that went on in meeting to anyone outside the Order, even her. Of course Ginny was upset that Harry wouldn't tell her anything, but she understood why and tried to forget about it whenever she was spending time with Harry, and it wasn't hard for her to forget about it while her lips were pressed against his. They spent most of their time outside in the sun, walking out to private places that were still close to the house so they could be alone and talk about whatever they wanted, occasionally doing a little more than just talking, a lot of it involving their tongues touching and their hands exploring each other's bodies. Once they almost lost control of themselves by fiddling with each other's clothes but were able to come back to their senses before it got out of hand. After a short talk they both agreed that it would be best to wait to go that far until they were older and both of age.

Around mid-July came the much anticipated day of Bill and Fleur's wedding and everyone was looking forward to a happy day, which was rare these days. Although Bill was now part werewolf it didn't change his love for Fleur in the tiniest detail. They never even once considered changing anything because of Bill's new condition; they made that clear the day Bill left the hospital at Hogwarts. He left with several scars on his body but stated that if it helped keep others alive then it was worth it.

Harry was walking around the backyard helping set up chairs while Bill stood off to the side, clearly deep in thought about what was about to happen and his future with Fleur.

"You think he's nervous," asked Harry while he grabbed two more chairs.

"No way, Bill's never been scared of anything in his life, I don't know how he can always be so calm about everything but he is," said Ron looking over at his brother. "Although I can't say the same thing about Fleur, I heard mum saying that she couldn't hold herself still all morning while she was getting her hair done. Took her practically a half hour until she was calm enough to even attempt to do it."

"You know I heard that they're going to be having their honeymoon in France close to where Fleur lives," said Fred as he and George both set the last couple chairs down. "Something about Bill wanting to spend time where she grew up."

"That makes sense if you ask me, since she's already seen so much of where he lives it only makes it fair for her to show him where she grew up," said Harry.

"Boys, come on now, we're about to start," said Arthur coming out the back door.

As if he had summoned them with his words, all the guests began to take their seats and Bill walked up to the front of the podium, looking as calm as if this was just another day at work. Ron went to take his seat beside Hermione and Harry went to stand by the backdoor with a few other men in dress robes who would be escorting bridesmaids, as he would be escorting Ginny. All eyes were now on the back door waiting for the bride to come out.

They didn't need to wait long, for suddenly the back door opened and the bridesmaids all stated coming out in turn. When Harry saw Ginny his jaw almost dropped. She looked so beautiful in her gold gown with her hair tied up in a bun. When she saw him she locked her eyes into his and never turned away. Then blowing him a kiss she took his elbow and walked with him down the aisle. When they reached the end they unwillingly separated and stood on opposite sides and turned their attention to the backdoor waiting for the bride. Once Fleur's sister Gabrielle came out, who was to be her sister's maid of honor, the bride finally came out the backdoor and it seemed like the world was blown away. With her father escorting her down the aisle you could see that she was nervous but happy. Her veela form had never shown off her beauty more than it was right now. She walked gracefully down the aisle and right up beside Bill who was smiling and you could see the love that was in his eyes.

The ceremony wasn't like anything Harry had ever seen before. But then again he had never even been to a muggle wedding so he didn't really know what to expect, but he was astounded at what happened. The sermon waived his wand over then enclosed hands and spoke of some kind of bonding, and as he pulled his wand back a bright glowing light formed around Bill and Fleur's enclosed hands.

After the I do's they were pronounced the new Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and everyone in the audience erupted with applause. Harry felt a burning feeling in him after the bride and groom walked back down the aisle and he followed shortly after with Ginny taking his arm. He was amazed how there could be so much love in the world and how the girl standing next to him could love him as much as she did.

About an hour later during the reception Bill and Fleur stepped out onto the dance floor for their first dance together. As they slowly rotated on the spot Harry caught an image in his mind of himself and Ginny in the same position, possibly several years from now, after this war is over with and assuming he would still be alive at the time.

After Bill and Fleur had a couple of dances to themselves more people started to move onto the dance floor together. Offering Ginny his arm he led her out onto the dance floor with him. As they found a nice spot with enough room Harry took her in his arms and she enclosed her own around his neck as they held each other as close as they possible could.

"Can you believe how much love there is in this world," said Harry softly as they rotated on the spot.

"It's amazing, especially with the amount of love I have to you," said Ginny laying her head against his chest.

"I love you so much Ginny," said Harry kissing the top of her head.

"I love you too Harry, I always have," she whispered into his ear.

The rest of the night passed with so much happiness in the air. The after party went until one in the morning when Bill and Fleur finally left to start their honeymoon and everyone else went up to bed.

July 31 came around and Harry, the Weasleys, and Hermione celebrated his 17th birthday, and his coming of age. It was nice to be able to enjoy another rare happy day as everyone spent the whole day celebrating, although Harry did most of his celebrating with Ginny, and especially loved her present to him, which was a photo album full of pictures of the two of them during their time together at Hogwarts. He noticed that there were several blank pages at the end and Ginny leaned to whisper-

"Those are for the future my love," and with a seductive smile she planted a gentle kiss on his cheek.

Harry wished the day could never end, but just like everything in life it did.

The next day Harry went along with Arthur to work so he could take his apparation test. He was nervous about it at first but relaxed as he got more into it, and passed with much better results than he expected. Thanking Arthur for bringing him Harry took his first apparation as an of aged wizard and apparated back to the Burrow, where he was greeted to a very stunning but pleasing surprise from Hermione.

"We think we may have found where one of the horcruxes may be," she whispered as he appeared in the room.

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	6. The Fourth Horcrux

It took a few seconds for Hermione's statement to sink into him fully. When he finally came back to his senses and realized what she had said he instantly took up a serious face and looked back at her. He motioned for them to follow him upstairs. Once they were in Ron's room Harry locked the door and silenced the room before sitting on his bed and looking back the Hermione.

"Which one and where?" asked Harry.

"Well we aren't sure which one it is, but we are sure that one is in southern France," said Hermione. "It seemed that Voldemort had this one place next to a volcano that he was found at during the last time he was in power and when he was first discovered at it it was obvious it was one of his hideouts, it was like a small cabin, suitable to live in and everything. And I'll bet you every book I have that one of the horcruxes is there. After he was discovered there and he fled it was searched and anything that looked like it was dangerous was taken, everything else was left and nobody has been there since. I think we should check it out and see if we can find anything."

Harry stared at Hermione as if he'd never seen another girl before and found himself wanting to kneel at her feet and praise her for her brilliance.

"But how will we get there, we don't know what it looks like so we can't apparate there?" asked Ron.

Harry felt that Ron had a pretty good point, they couldn't apparate there and that would complicate things. They had to do this without anyone knowing what they were doing and also do it in a short amount of time so they could get back before anyone knew they were gone.

"It's obvious that we're going to have to do this during the night but we'll have to make sure we can get back before morning so nobody will know we're gone," said Harry. "But what other way is there to get there quickly besides apparating? Riding brooms wouldn't be fast enough, not even my Firebolt can get there very quickly and no offense but your broom isn't as fast as mine," Harry said looking at Ron. "And also, no offense again but Hermione is no flier?"

"No I am not, I've only been on a broom once and that was back in our first year when we were going after the Sorcerer's Stone in that flying key room," said Hermione laughing as she remembered back to their first year. "Even then I was dreadful, and I haven't been on a broom since so I'd still be dreadful."

The three friends all sat down and started thinking about a way that they could do this and not be discovered by anyone. Harry put his face in his hands and just stared at the darkness in his palms. They sat there for about twenty minutes before Hermione finally broke the silence.

"Wait, I think I know a way that could work," she said looking up.

Harry snapped his eyes onto her and once again looked like he was about ready to worship her for being so brilliant. Ron was also looking at her like he was in complete awe, but there was also something else in his eyes Harry noticed that was more than just awe.

"Well, what is it," Ron asked looking anxious.

"Well, what if Harry took his broom tonight and found the place himself, that way he could find out what it looks like and everything, then he could apparate back here after he finds it," said Hermione looking at both Harry and Ron in turn, turning her head every couple seconds. "Then tomorrow we can side apparate with him to the volcano and we'll have the whole night to see what we can find, and easily be back before morning and before anyone knows that we're gone."

Ron was now looking at her with his mouth hanging open, as if he was about to drop to his knees and bow to her like a queen and kiss her feet. Harry didn't blame him for being in awe but thought maybe he was overreacting just a little bit and that he better snap his eyes back into his sockets before Hermione saw him and he embarrassed himself. But sure enough Hermione looked at him before he did and Ron didn't even change his face as she stared at him with a confused expression.

"Er, Ron, are you okay?" asked Hermione. Ron didn't even acknowledge her, instead he just inclined his head to the side a little bit.

"Er, Ron," said Hermione again waving her hand in his face.

Ron finally realized what he was doing and closed his mouth and sat back up strait.

"Oh er, yea, I'm okay, I was just thinking of, what a good idea that is," said Ron while stuttering.

Harry grinned at his friend so that he wouldn't see. Why couldn't Ron just tell Hermione that he was head over heels in love with her, everyone in Gryffindor knew it and thought they would be the perfect match, so why couldn't he grow some balls and talk to her. They were after all in Gryffindor but Ron didn't show it very much at times. Then Harry remembered everything he had gone through while he was crushing on Ginny last year and how he had waited so long to make a move on her. But he also didn't take at least two years, possibly more, which is how long he's known Ron fancied Hermione. He'd suspected it for a long time now, but it became obvious that he was when he saw her at the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum. Maybe he'd have to take matters into his own hands and try to get them together himself if nothing happened soon.

"What about you Harry?" said Hermione turning to him.

Remembering what they were talking about Harry looked at her.

"I think it's brilliant, but we'll still have to be careful and make sure nobody figures out what we're up to," said Harry.

Hermione then got up and moved into the center of the room.

"Okay, so Harry will go find the volcano tonight and then tomorrow we'll all side apparate together tomorrow night to see what we can find, and Harry when you go tonight don't do anything crazy, like try to find the horcrux yourself, you know that it would be safer with all three of us there in case anything happens."

Harry nodded his head to show that he wouldn't, even though he hadn't planned on doing that anyway, he did know that he would need all three of them there to do this. So after one last run through the plan they all headed back downstairs to get dinner and celebrate Harry passing his apparation.

Later that night when everyone had gone to bed Harry, Ron, and Hermione had stayed up in the living room saying that they were working on something for the Order, and since everyone knew that they were members now they decided not to question them and just leave them alone. After waiting an hour after everyone had gone to bed Hermione pulled out a map of France and showed Harry where he needed to go to find the volcano.

"It's right here next to this wizarding town called Capatan, about five miles west of it you'll find the volcano. In the old reports it says that Voldemort's hideout is located on the eastern side of the volcano, in a little cavern that is hard to see with all the darkness that surrounds it."

Harry nodded at her to say he understood, and got up and quietly made his way upstairs to get his Firebolt. Quietly sneaking back downstairs Harry said good-bye to Ron and Hermione and assured them he'd be back before morning, and if he couldn't find it by 5 A.M. he'd come back anyway and try again tomorrow. So with one last wave he took off into the night and headed south towards France.

It took a good five hours for him to get to Capatan and by the time he did he was really sore in his crotch and getting really sleepy, despite all the wind blowing in his face as he flew. He then checked the compass he'd attached to his broom from the broomstick service kit Hermione had given him for his thirteenth birthday and headed west. But once he looked east he saw the compass would no longer be necessary to finding the volcano for he could already see it from where he was hovering. He flew over to it and landed on the eastern side and hopped off. Lighting the tip of his wand he started looking for any sign of some little cavern. He walked up and down the little hills but found nothing. Then finally after about an hour he walking behind one big rock he found himself standing right in front of a small entrance to a cave and looked inside. One glace into it told him that he had found what he was looking for, for he could see scattered artifacts on the volcano rock floor but the giveaway was on the rock floor. A skeleton was laying there with a serpent slithering around in its mouth, the dark mark was formed right into the solid rock. Remembering the promise he made that he'd wait until they were all there he looked around so that he would remember where he was for apparating here next time, then apparated back to the Burrow.

Harry spent all of the next morning filling in Ron and Hermione of what the place was like and what he had seen of the cavern from the outside, and that it was definitely Voldemort's old hideout because of the dark mark he's seen on the ground.

Again after everyone had gone to bed they all met in the living room and got ready to go. Ron and Hermione each took one of Harry's hands and stood huddled together. Harry then focused on the volcano he'd visited last night and the entrance to the cave at the base of it. Suddenly they were gone with a pop and standing right in front of the cave the next instant.

"Wow, I've never actually seen a volcano up close before," said Hermione looking up at the volcano astounded.

"Neither have I, but I must say it's pretty damn amazing," said Ron also looking around.

"All right, here's the entrance to the cave right here, and there's the dark mark on the ground just like I told you," said Harry pointing to the entrance.

"Okay, let's go then, but keep your guard on at all times, who knows what could be in there," said Hermione taking her wand out and stepping forward.

Harry and Ron took their own wands out and entered right behind Hermione. Once they got inside they all spread out and started looking around. The inside of the cave was a little bigger than the common room in Gryffindor Tower but had much less stuff in it. Other than a small bed and table in one of the corners there wasn't anything larger than a couple open trunks spread out around the room.

Harry started looking for anything that looked like a locket or a fancy looking cup, but couldn't find anything. Looking up he suddenly turned to the others with an idea.

"Hey, I'll try to summon it. I'm not sure if it'll work but no harm in trying."

"I guess not, go ahead Harry," said Hermione.

Harry looked to the center of the room and waved his wand.

"Accio horcrux," said Harry.

Just as Harry expected, nothing happened. He tried another two times just for good measure but again had nothing. Lowering his wand the three kept inspecting the room, looking for anything that looked out of the ordinary. Harry began walking along the walls, putting his hand on the solid stone, feeling all over as he walked along the side of the room.

As he got closer to the corner though he suddenly put his hand on a very cold spot. The sudden change in temperature on the wall got him to look a little closer, putting his face right next to it and putting his ear against it knocking. It quickly became apparent that this part of the wall was made of metal and had some charm to make it look like it was still solid stone.

"Look here, this part of the wall is made of metal and been charmed to still look like stone. I'll bet you my broomstick there's something hiding right here," said Harry. "Voldemort must have blasted a hole in the wall and hid something in it, then re-sealed it so that it wouldn't be found."

Ron and Hermione stepped closer and looked at the wall themselves, then turned to look at each other then back to Harry nodding.

"Step aside," said Harry lifting his wand and pointing it to the wall.

Ron and Hermione moved and Harry focused on the wall.

"Reducto," Harry said and the wall blasted apart to reveal a small space with a little trunk sitting in it.

"Bingo," said Ron stepping beside Harry looking at the trunk.

Stepping right up to the trunk Harry reached down and opened it, and grinned wider then he could ever remember grinning as he gazed down upon a golden locket with a large golden chain, the real locket horcrux.

"It's Slytherin's locket," said Hermione smiling. "We got one, that makes a total of four now."

"All thanks to you really," said Harry turning to Hermione. "You're the one that figured out about this place."

Hermione blushed and looked away.

"Hey I helped too," said Ron.

"Yea, you helped as in you handed me my reports when I asked for them," said Hermione turning back around.

"What, I also, er, I also helped by..." said Ron but couldn't come up with anything.

"Just stop talking Ronald," said Hermione but her voice had turned softer and Harry thought he heard a little sniff in her voice, but Ron seemed not to notice.

"We got what we came for, let's just get rid of this thing and get out of here," said Harry.

Picking up the locket Harry threw it into the air and pointed his wand at it.

"Reducto," Harry said again shooting a jet of light at the locket. The locket instantly caught on fire and fell to the ground, but when the fire went down the locket didn't even have a scratch.

Harry looked at the locket now puzzled, though at the same time not completely surprised because he would have been kinda suspicious if it was that easy to destroy the horcruxes, the others certainly hadn't been this easy.

"Reducto," Harry said again more aggressively this time violently pointing his wand at the locket, but again nothing happened. It slowly dawned on Harry that they would have to figure out another way to destroy the horcruxes in addition to just finding them.

Turning around to face Ron and Hermione again they both realized what he was thinking.

"Now not only do we have to find the rest of them, but figure out how to destroy them," Harry said picking the locket back up.

"Well at least we found the thing, so we're moving in the right direction," Hermione said sounding compassionate.

"All right, just then we have three to go," said Ron. "Now we just have Hufflepuff's cup, something of Ravenclaw's, that snake of you-kn...er, that snake of Voldemort's, and then Voldemort himself."

"Then maybe I'll finally be able to live my life the way I want to live it," said Harry with a sigh.

"Don't worry Harry, we'll get through this, everything will be...HARRY, RON, LOOK OUT," Hermione said looking up and suddenly panicking.

Harry looked up and gasped. The roof of the cave was breaking and seconds away from falling down on top of them. Harry instantly realized what was going on. Voldemort must have charmed the locket so that if anything happened to it, the cave would automatically start to break up and fall apart. Large chunks of rocks were starting to fall all around them and cause the cave to shake. Trying to get out Harry, Ron, and Hermione side stepped the falling rocks trying to get to the exit, barely avoiding being hit several times. But one rock landed right in front of Ron and he stepped before he saw it and tripped over it, landing on the rock floor with a big THUD. The next moment he was looking straight up and saw death coming to claim him, another rock bigger than his head had broken off directly above him and was falling right to his face.

Harry was too scared and shocked to even raise his wand to try to save him. But luckily Hermione was able to see it and take matters into her own hands.

"Immobulous," he heard her shout in panic just before the rock crushed Ron's head. The rock suddenly stopped falling and was hovering less than a foot away from his face. Too scared at what had just happened to move he just lay there; completely unaware of anything that was happening. How long Ron actually lay there he didn't know, it could have been several hours and he wouldn't have noticed, until Harry hurried beside him and helped him to his feet.

"Are you all right Ron," said Harry checking over him to see if he was injured at all.

Ron couldn't answer, he was still in shock. All the rocks had stopped falling and the cave was now covered in piles of rubble from the rocks breaking after they hit the ground. Finally realizing again where he was Ron looked at Harry who also was wearing a pale face.

"That was way too close, I thought I was dead," said Ron.

"I know mate, you almost had your arse totally crushed, or more like your head totally crushed," said Harry. "We should have known something like that would have happened once we took the locket, I can't believe we didn't expect it. Thank god though Hermione saw the roof start to break up."

Ron then remembered that Hermione had just saved him from that rock smashing his face into a pancake. Looking over at her he saw a completely terrified look on her face. Walking over to her he put a hand on her shoulder to calm her.

"Thanks Hermione, I really owe you one," said Ron.

"Oh Ron I thought you were dead, I didn't think I stopped the rock in time for a second there, I thought you were going to be crushed," Hermione said as she flung her arms around him. Ron embraced her to comfort her and to ensure her that she had done a good job. Then before he could stop himself he placed his lips against hers. Hermione looked totally shocked at what was happening, but she only closed her eyes and deepened the kiss. When they separated after a couple minutes Ron put his hand in her hair and stroked it with his fingers.

"Hermione, I can't keep myself from not telling you any more, I'm in love with you. I've been in love with you ever since our second year and I saw you petrified in the hospital wing. Ever since then I've wanted to just take you in my arms and confess to you, but I just never could. And now after that I realized I could have died and not gotten to ever tell you, so before anything like that ever happens again I want you to know how I feel about you."

Hermione looked into his eyes and Harry saw them light up at what he had said.

"Oh Ron, I've wanted to tell you the exact same thing. I've loved you for so long and I just didn't know how to tell you. Even when I went to the Yule Ball with Victor I was always thinking of you and how I wished it was really you that I was dancing with all night. I love you so much Ronald Weasley."

When she finished confessing she threw her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him. Ron embraced her with his own arms and held her as close to him as he could.

Harry was a little surprised by their sudden actions but he didn't say anything to them, he wanted to let them enjoy this moment now that they were finally confessing that they were in love with each other. Letting her go Ron stepped back and turned around to look at Harry.

"It's about bloody time you two realize you are made for each other," said Harry smiling at his two best friends. "You only waited at least five years by the sound of it, who knows it could possibly be more, and until you're both adults to stop living in denial."

"Oh shut up Harry," said Hermione smiling at him and leaning on Ron's shoulder.

"Well I think it's about time to get out of here before anything else happens," said Harry.

"You don't need to tell me twice mate, I'm in no hurry to get my arse killed, besides I think I have some talking to do with Hermione when we get back," said Ron putting his arm around her waist and smiling at her.

They all quickly walked out of the cave and stood there for a minute. After a minute they all embraced each other in a three way hug to show that they were glad that they were all okay and that they were glad they had succeeded in their mission. Separating after a minute they all focused on the Burrow and apparated home to get some much needed rest and so Ron and Hermione could have their talk. It sure had been another eventful night for the three friends.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione appeared in the backyard of the Burrow trying to keep as quiet as they could so they wouldn't wake anybody. Harry gave a quick look to them both to remind them to keep as quiet as possible they all moved to the door and slowly opened it. Harry took a quick peek inside to make sure nobody was in the living room or the kitchen. Seeing all the rooms empty he ushered for Ron and Hermione to follow him. Ron came in last and closed the door behind him then took Hermione's hand in his own. Pulling her close to him he gave her a smile which she returned. As they all made their way to the staircase to get to bed before anyone could discover them they didn't realize that somebody was waiting in the corner for them to come back.

"And where have you three been this evening," the person asked.


	7. Discovered

Harry, Ron, and Hermione jumped so quickly Harry felt like he had jumped right out of his skin. He hadn't seen anyone in the room but it seems someone had been there, and whoever it was that person was waiting for them. At first he thought it was Molly judging by the tone, but then she stepped out of the corner revealing herself. It was Ginny.

"Bit late to be going on night time strolls isn't it," said Ginny but Harry could hear the sarcasm in her voice.

"How did you even know we were out," asked Harry, had she seen them leave earlier and had been waiting all this time for them to come back.

"Oh come on Harry, don't play dumb with me," said Ginny frowning. "You three have such a reputation of sneaking around places and the three of you staying up later than everyone else down here may not look that suspicious to some, but as far as I'm concerned you might as well write it on the walls because it's so obvious that you three are up to something."

"We weren't sneaking around anywhere," said Ron nervously. "We, er, thought the moon was shining brightly tonight and that we would go out and enjoy it.

Ginny walked over to the window and looked out into the sky. "Oh really, then perhaps you could point out the moon to me then Ron," said Ginny.

"It's right there, isn't it," said Ron pointing out the back window.

Ginny continued to look like she was looking out the window for the moon, though Harry could tell she wasn't really looking.

"Where Ron, I can't seem to find it," said Ginny.

Ron walked over to the window and looked out himself and saw that it was an overcast night, not a single star could be seen, much less the moon.

"Well, where is it Ron," Ginny asked again.

"Er, I guess it's gone now that the clouds have passed in front of it," said Ron trying to keep his voice casual.

"Yes, or maybe you're a very bad liar and you should tell me what you three were really doing," said Ginny dropping her mock voice.

"Ginny, I'm very sorry but we can't tell you where we were or what we were doing," said Harry and then braced himself for the yelling that he knew was about to follow.

"Silencio," Harry heard Hermione say, and feeling very thankful that she had thought of that before Ginny woke up all of England.

"Well I wasn't going to yell but if Hermione's going to make it so that nobody can hear me but you three I guess I might as well then," said Ginny, and Harry then saw Hermione put a look of regret on her face.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE STILL KEEPING SECRETS FROM ME HARRY JAMES POTTER! I'M GETTING BLOODY TIRED OF YOU NOT TELLING ME STUFF AND JUST LEAVING ME ON THE SIDELINE TO DO NOTHING WHEN I CAN BE HELPING YOU. I WANT TO BE APART OF WHATEVER YOU THREE ARE DOING BECAUSE I KNOW WHATEVER IT IS IT'S TO DO WITH VOLDEMORT AND FIGHTING HIM. NOW ARE YOU GOING TO TELL ME OR DO I HAVE TO GO WAKE UP MUM AND DAD AND TELL THEM ABOUT YOU THREE SNEAKING OFF, AND YES I WILL GO UP THERE AND TELL THEM RIGHT NOW IF YOU DON'T START TALKING."

Harry was downright terrified, and a quick look at Ron and Hermione told him that they were just as much as he was. What could he do, would Ginny really tell Molly and Arthur that they were sneaking off if he didn't tell her what they were up to. Trying to do some really quick thinking he looked at Ron and Hermione for help, but could see that they were struggling with the exact same question.

"You've got five seconds to start talking before I walk upstairs," said Ginny as she turned to the staircase. "One."

Harry was now panicking, what to do, what to do.

"Two."

He had sworn he wouldn't get her involved, he had made a promise to himself to not put her in any more danger than she already was.

"Three."

But then again she was the one that he felt more safe talking to anyone on the whole planet, and she was a very strong and spirited fighter.

"Four."

'I guess I'll just have to take this chance, as much as I don't want to, because I can't let anyone else find out if I can avoid it,' Harry thought in his mind.

"Five. That's it, I'm going to wake up mum and dad," said Ginny starting to walk towards the stairs.

Harry reached out to grab her arm lightly and hold her back. Ginny turned around and looked up at him, waiting for him to say anything.

"Okay Ginny, I'll tell you where we were and what we were up to," said Harry.

Ginny smiled at him and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

"But, it'll have to wait until tomorrow, it'll take too long to explain now and Ron, Hermione and I really want to get some sleep after the night we just had, but I give you my word that tomorrow night after everyone else goes to sleep I'll tell you everything, okay."

Ginny turned around and looked at Ron and Hermione and did notice that they did seem extremely tired and they did look like they'd had a very long night, so she looked back to Harry and nodded.

"Okay Harry, but if you try to squirm out of telling me anything now that you've told me you would you'll find yourself wishing you could be standing in front of a dragon again instead of in front of me," said Ginny with a threatening stare.

Harry simply smiled and gave her a soft kiss on the lips to tell her that he would never brake any promise he made her. She smiled at him and put her arms around his neck and they held each other for a minute. Harry pulled back from her and gazed down into her lovely brown eyes.

"Will I ever be able to have a day without having to worry about doing anything that involves saving people," said Harry smiling down at her.

Ginny gave him another quick kiss on the lips before answering.

"I promise you that you will once this whole thing is over with," said Ginny suggestively.

With that the four of them all went upstairs quietly and into their respective rooms, boys together and girls together. Harry then remembered that Ron and Hermione wanted to have a talk about what had happened after the cave had nearly fallen on them and they shared that kiss.

"I thought you were going to talk with Hermione," said Harry as he pulled his clothes off and slipped into his pajamas.

"It's too late, we said we'd talk tomorrow," said Ron as he climbed into his own bed. "Night' mate."

"Night," said Harry.

The next afternoon Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny all grabbed some food for lunch and a blanket. They had told everyone that they were going to have a picnic outside because it would be a more romantic spot to celebrate Ron and Hermione finally getting together. But this wasn't completely untrue, for they really did want to celebrate them finally getting together, it just wasn't the main point of them getting away from everyone else. They wanted to make sure they weren't overheard by anyone while they told Ginny what they had promised last night.

As they all settled down underneath a tree they started eating and just talking about teenage stuff for a few minutes, wanting to actually be able to enjoy a little time alone before things got serious. Ginny was laying down with her head in Harry's lap so that he could feed her grapes while she pretended to pout at him, while Ron and Hermione were sitting side by side, hips touching and all, with Hermione doing her very best to try to get Ron to be more polite while he ate, and failing miserably. After they all finished eating Harry took a look back to the Burrow to make sure nobody was coming towards them and also around the trees making sure nobody like the twins were spying on them. Convinced that the area was completely deserted except for the four of them he looked down and Ginny.

"Okay, you ready to hear the whole story?" asked Harry.

"Well I was quite comfortable where I was but I do really want to hear about this, and also seeing as you promised you'd tell me, might as well," said Ginny sitting up.

"Well you didn't need to sit up, I could have told you while you were down there," said Harry smiling at her.

Ginny lightly hit his arm and told him to just start talking.

And so Harry launched into the whole story just like he had told the Order when they said they wanted to join, only this time he didn't leave out the horcruxes. He told her about the prophecy, his lessons with Dumbledore last year, what the horcruxes were and what they did, how he and Dumbledore had gone to the cave the night Hogwarts was attacked, how they had been working since they got back from school on trying to find them, and about the very crazy events of the night before, plus how Hermione had saved Ron and how they got together after the shock was all over. The only thing Harry left out was his meeting with the stranger after the funeral and what he was planning to teach him when he felt the time was right. After Harry finished telling the story about a half hour later Ginny was looking at him with her eyes open so wide Harry felt that they could have rivaled a house elf's. She clearly had heard a lot more than she thought she was going to and was feeling scared for all of them.

"Oh Harry, I had no idea," said Ginny throwing her arms around him and pulling herself against him. "How could someone only seventeen years old live with that kind of weight on their backs.

"Well I do have a few things that distract me at times and makes it a lot easier," said Harry looking into her eyes and smiling.

Ginny then smiled back at him and wiped a tear from her eye. "Really, what do you have to distract you from all of that," said Ginny in mock tone.

"Well it has gorgeous red hair, beautiful brown eyes, it'll be sixteen in less than two weeks, and she makes me feel more alive than anything on this planet," said Harry putting his forehead against hers.

Letting a few more tears fall from her eyes Ginny moved in to close the gap between their mouths. They shared a few minutes of pure passion and love, letting everything else in the world be erased from their minds while they were like this. Harry could feel all the love in the world in their kiss as he pulled her closer to him. How he wished he never had to go on all these dangerous tasks and be the one that had to rid the world of Voldemort. There was nothing he wouldn't give to just be a normal teenager without a care in the world other than being with Ginny for the rest of his life. Right then he decided that as soon as this war was over and Voldemort was gone he would give Ginny the life with him he knew she had been praying for since she was ten. Ending the kiss Harry gazed into her bright brown eyes, seeing the love she had for him in them.

"I love you Ginny, so much," Harry whispered to her. This caused Ginny's eyes to explode with tears as he face got all puffy. But she was still smiling all the same, as if she had never heard anything so beautiful.

"I love you too Harry, more than my own life. I've waited since I was ten for you to tell me that you love me, I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am right now," Ginny said as more tears fell down her cheek. She reached to brush them away but Harry took her hand in his and told her to let them drop, that he felt her tears were proof of how much she loved him.

They had forgotten that Ron and Hermione were there but Ginny suddenly seemed to remember and looked over her shoulder, as if expecting Ron to start trying to tell them to quit it in front of him. But when she looked over at him she gasped when she saw him just sitting there smiling at them.

"What?" said Ron innocently.

"Aren't you going to tell me and Harry to stop acting so, as you like to say, disgusting and indecent in front of you like you always do," asked Ginny looking at her brother strangely.

"Now what kind of brother would I be to interrupt my sister when I can see how happy she is at the moment, that wouldn't be very nice of me would it," said Ron smiling.

Ginny then pulled her arms off Harry and turned around to look at Ron. "Okay who the hell are you and what have you done with my brother Ron, because the Ron I know is a complete ass and would never in a thousand years say anything like that to me when it came to me and a boy."

"That Ron isn't here anymore little sister. I've realized that you and Hermione are right and have always been right. I always have been a big prat to you whenever you had a boyfriend and I'm not going to interfere anymore. I can see how happy you are with Harry and that he really does love you and the last thing I want to do now is upset my little sister, I want her to be the happiest she can be."

Ginny stared at him in disbelief, how could her brother that had always been so rude to her when it came to boys suddenly become so mature. She got up and gave him a hug and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you Ron, I love you," said Ginny.

"I love you too little sis, just make sure you never do anything careless otherwise I'll regret ever changing like this," said Ron with a smile.

"I will, don't worry," said Ginny.

"Well, anyone else reckon it's about time we head back to the house," said Harry.

The other three nodded and got up. With a little wave of her wand Hermione folded up the blanket and Ron carried it back to the house while holding her hand and Harry walked with his arm around Ginny's waist. 'To be loved like this is breathtaking' Harry thought to himself.

When they got back to the Burrow Harry went up to Ron's room to grab the chess set so he could have a match with Ron, and of course lose just like the hundred times before. But when he got up there he found an envelope addressed to him. Wondering why it hadn't come this morning during breakfast he picked it up and opened it. As he opened it he saw there was no name.

Harry,

I see that you have found the first of the remaining horcruxes, congratulations.

'WHAT,' Harry thought to himself, who could be writing to him that knew about the horcruxes and that he had destroyed one.

I can see that you definitely are the one they call "The Chosen One" in the Daily Prophet. You must not slack off though; you must find the next horcrux as soon as possible. After you have found the next one, be ready to meet me again, for that will be the time for me to start your training, as I explained to you the last time we met.

"It's from that stranger, but does this mean that he's been following me,' Harry asked himself in his mind.

You must hurry now and complete your mission so that we may begin your training; for the sooner I am able to train you the sooner you may defeat Voldemort and end this world wide nightmare. I'm sorry that I still cannot tell you exactly who I am but I assure you I will tell you everything when the right time comes. Burn this letter after you read it, I still wish not to be known by anyone other than you for the time being. Until we meet in the future,

A friend.

P.S. Keep that female red head friend of yours close to you, you're going to need her with you more than you know.

Harry let the letter drop from his hands onto the bed with disbelief. How could this stranger be keeping such a close watch on him without Harry knowing. Did he perhaps have an invisibility cloak and he'd been following him ever since they met back by the Black Lake. He sure would have a lot of questions to ask him when he met him again in the future. Picking the letter back up in one hand he pulled out his wand and lit it on fire like the letter had asked him to do. He still wasn't fully sure he could trust this stranger, but decided that he would still keep his existence a secret for now.


	8. Birthday Shopping, Breakfast, Surprises

For the next 10 days Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny spent most of their time practicing dueling with each other to try to keep their skills in top shape. Since Harry was the one that had been the former head of the DA and was the best at defense against the dark arts the other three turned to him to help them with what they were doing. They found that they had all improved dramatically over the past year with all the battles they had all been a part of. Ginny had to make sure nobody was around while they practiced seeing as she was still underage but as long as nobody saw her and they kept within the boundaries of the Burrow nobody would be able to detect that it was her using magic.

On August 10th Harry realized that the next day was Ginny's birthday and he still hadn't gotten her a present. So after a quick breakfast he told the others he had to go to Diagon Alley for a quick visit into Quality Quidditch Supply so he told everyone he'd be back in about an hour. He was unaware of Ginny listening on the stairs and before he could get to the fireplace he found Ginny stepping in front of him, blocking his way and smiling at him suggestively.

"And where are you off to Harry," she asked sweetly taking a step closer to him.

"Oh, er, just thought I'd go to Quality Quidditch Supply and see if they have anything new," Harry said quickly.

"Well then can I come with you? Maybe we can go some other places too," said Ginny putting her arms around Harry's neck and leaning into him.

Harry wanted nothing more than to stay in this position forever but he kept his will strong and remembered that this was his last chance to get Ginny a present. If he didn't go now he'd get too distracted and he'd never get Ginny anything, and what kind of boyfriend doesn't do anything for his girlfriend on her birthday.

"No that's, okay Ginny, I'll be back a little later," said Harry pulling away as much as he didn't want to.

He walked past Ginny who was still smiling knowingly at him and stepped into the fireplace. Right before he yelled Diagon Alley and disappeared Ginny blew him a kiss and winked at him. Harry smiled as he was sucked into the familiar and still unpleasant feeling of spinning and taste of ash. He never did get used to floo powder. Just when he was starting to feel sick again he fell out of the fireplace of the Leaky Cauldron. One look up told him that it was empty.

"Mr. Potter, how nice to see you, can I get you anything," came the voice of the toothless landlord Tom. Harry could hear a hopeful tone in his voice; he obviously hadn't had many customers lately.

"Sorry Tom, but I have to go into Diagon Alley and get my girlfriend a birthday present," said Harry getting to his feet.

Tom groaned and walked back behind the counter as Harry walked to the alley in back where the brick wall entrance to Diagon Alley greeted him. As he tapped the necessary bricks he couldn't help but feel bad for Tom. Harry made a mental note to himself to stop for a quick drink on his way back.

First Harry went to Gringotts to get some gold from his vault, and then he went into a jewelry store not too far from the entrance to Knockturn Alley.

"Can I help you sir?" the employee asked when Harry walked in.

Harry was about to ask what kind of jewelry they had but stopped himself before the woman could noticed who he was, he really was not in the mood to have anyone hovering over him.

"No thank you, I just wanted to browse and see what I can find," said Harry and walking to the shelves before the assistant noticed who he was.

He spent about fifteen minutes looking over every ring, bracelet, necklace, and earrings that were in the shop of all colors. Then finally he found the perfect one. It was a gold necklace with a little heart hanging on the end about the size of a thumbnail with little birthstones around it. Harry found one with the birthstone for August and walked up to the front desk to pay for it.

"Buying that for a special witch young man," the clerk asked.

"Yes, it's for the woman I love more than anything, tomorrows her birthday and I want to show her how much I love her," said Harry.

"It's beautiful, I think she'll love it, she's a very lucky witch," said the clerk smiling at him as she put it into a jewelry box and put it into a little bag and handed it back to Harry.

"I'm hoping she does," said Harry paying 24 galleons for the necklace. Then not wanting anyone to know that he had bought anything when he got back to the Burrow, put the bag into his pocket and turned to leave. That's when the clerk was looking at him more carefully. Harry started walking a little quicker before she could ask him if he was really Harry Potter and start gaping at his scar.

"Hey wait, aren't you-"

'Yes I'm Harry bloody Potter, the fucking Chosen One and I really love it when people stare at my scar and act like that' Harry said to himself sarcastically in his mind frowning as he walked out the door and turned back towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"Find a nice present Mr. Potter?" asked Tom, who wasn't as cheerful this time.

"Yes I did, but there is one more thing I need before I head back to the Burrow," said Harry smiling. "You wouldn't happen to have any fresh bottles of Firewhiskey back there would you?"

Tom's head snapped up and joy flooded into his face at Harry's request. He looked like he could leap for joy and start punching the air, but he just kept smiling and reached under the counter pulling out a large mug and bottle of amber liquid.

"Just got that bottle today Mr. Potter, so be sure to enjoy it as it's as fresh as it'll ever be," said Tom.

"Thanks Tom," said Harry sipping his mug, taking his time so he could stay a little longer and let Tom enjoy having a customer for a little while. When he finally finished 20 minutes later he set some gold on the counter, bid Tom good day, and stepped back into the fireplace to floo back to the Burrow.

Ginny was sitting on the love seat when Harry landed in front of the fireplace with a suspicious look on her face. Harry stood up and brushed the soot off his jeans when he noticed Ginny looking at him.

"Hi Ginny, everything okay?" asked Harry, wondering if she had been sitting there the whole time since he left earlier.

"You sure took a long time to just go to Quality Quidditch Supply," Ginny said sweetly to him.

"Okay I also stopped for a drink in the Leaky Cauldron so Tom could have someone to serve since he barely has anyone there anymore," said Harry trying to make sure the bag was completely hidden in his pocket.

Ginny stood up and walked up to him putting one foot in front of the other causing her hips to swing a little, and you can believe that she got Harry to gaze at her. "So you didn't go shopping anywhere else for anything, maybe for a certain event that happened on the 11th of August for someone supposedly very special to you," said Ginny wrapping her arms around Harry's neck once again, this time also stroking his hair.

"Huh, what happens on the 11th of August," Harry asked innocently.

"Oh nothing special, it's just your girlfriend's birthday and she'd love to see what you got her," said Ginny as she leaned into him and planted a couple kisses on his cheek moving down to his neck.

"Well if I did get her something then I couldn't tell her yet could I now, because the 11th of August is still ten hours away, today is only the 10th of August at two in the afternoon," said Harry though he let a small moan escape his mouth from the pleasant feeling Ginny was giving his neck. Ginny tried to slide one of her hands down his body and made a reach for Harry's pocket. Harry suddenly realized where Ginny's hand was reaching for and came back to the Burrow, for his mind felt like it had traveled to a paradise island.

"Nice try Ginny, you almost got me," said Harry grabbing her hand before she plunged it into his pocket. "You're just going to have to wait until tomorrow," said Harry teasing her.

Groaning in defeat Ginny pulled back from Harry and turned to walk into the kitchen, but Harry grabbed her from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Hey now, just because you can't see what I got you doesn't mean that you still can't touch me, I was rather enjoying what you were doing a minute ago," said Harry suggestively. Ginny giggled and placed her hands on top of Harry's and leaned back against him so that Harry could plant kisses all over the side of her face, making it her turn to moan. Spinning around on the spot Ginny wrapped her hands back around Harry's neck and gently scratched the top of his head which sent shivers down Harry's spine. Smiling at each other for a second they looked into each other's eyes to see them bright with love. Harry then leaned in to kiss her and once again got that erotic feeling he always got when his lips touched Ginny's. Unexpectedly Harry felt Ginny step back but with her hands still in his hair, pulling him back with her as she laid on the love seat. Harry had never felt as alive as he lay on top of her and started deepening the kiss. Ginny moved her tongue across his lips and Harry gladly let her in and felt her tongue brush up against his own and tighten her grip around him. Forgetting all about where he and Ginny were neither of them noticed Ron and Hermione walk into the room.

"Okay I know I said I wasn't going to be a prat anymore but I still am not comfortable finding you two like this right in the middle of the living room," said Ron causing Harry's and Ginny's mouths to separate.

"Sorry mate, I forgot where I was and Ginny just got me totally hypnotized," said Harry smiling back down to Ginny, and receiving a light smack on the arm.

"Well do try not to do things like that in the middle of the living room anymore, I really feel uncomfortable seeing my best mate and sister like that," said Ron. Harry and Ginny both frowned and Harry unwillingly got off of Ginny and helped her to her feet.

"You guys in the mood for a game of exploding snap?" asked Ron. They all nodded and went up to Ron's room and played Exploding Snap until Molly called them to dinner.

The next day Harry woke bright and early at 6 a.m. and was showered and dressed by 6:30. After making sure he hadn't woken Ron he tip toed out of the room and down into the kitchen. Harry had asked Molly if she would leave him some instructions on how she made her excellent eggs with toast and jam so Harry could make them for Ginny and give her breakfast in bed. Carefully going over the instructions Molly left on the counter Harry whipped up an omelet with ham, cheese, tomatoes, peppers, and mushrooms, two pieces of toast with strawberry jam, sliced an orange into 6 pieces, grabbed a vine of grapes, and poured a glass of pumpkin juice. He wanted everything to be perfect so he had Molly tell him the exact amount of time to cook the eggs, the exact amount of cheese and milk to mix with the eggs, how long to cook all the vegetables, the exact amount of time to warm the toast, and the exact amount of jam Ginny liked on her toast. Putting it all onto a tray he gathered it up and headed up into Ginny's room. As he walked in he noticed that Hermione was just waking up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. When she saw what Harry was doing she beamed at him and smiled.

"Oh Harry you're just too sweet, making Ginny breakfast for her and bringing it to her in bed," said Hermione.

"Well what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't treat her like a queen on her birthday," Harry whispered smiling back. Stepping up to her bed and sitting on the side Harry placed the tray on her bedside table. Leaning down he gave her a soft kiss on her forehead which caused her to moan in her sleep and a small smile appeared on her face. Harry wondered what she was dreaming of and hoped it was of him.

"What if she's dreaming of me and I interrupt a very peaceful moment," Harry whispered to Hermione.

"I don't know Harry, I guess you'll just have to find out," said Hermione who had been watching him the whole time and smiling at them. "But once she sees what you've made for her I doubt that she'll complain about you waking her up."

Harry decided he'd just take a chance and hope for the best. Putting a hand on her shoulder he very lightly shook her.

Ginny moaned for a minute in protest telling him that she didn't want to wake up yet while still half asleep, but Harry had made her breakfast and he intended to give it to her.

"Come on Ginny, time to wake up," said Harry leaning down to kiss her cheek.

"Harry do I have to, it's so early," said Ginny opening her eyes halfway when she realized where she was.

"Yes you do, otherwise I'll have to eat this breakfast I made for you myself," said Harry picking up the tray and putting it in her lap.

This caused Ginny's eyes to open wide awake and look down at the tray Harry had just put in her lap. Smiling at Harry she reached over to pull him over to her and gave him a quick but passionate kiss, careful not to pull him against the tray and squash the food. "Thank you Harry, but what's the occasion," asked Ginny teasingly.

"Well now, Yesterday you try to butter me up into giving you your birthday present early, and now on your birthday your acting as if you don't know what's going on," Harry said smiling down at her. "Is this the way it's going to be every year I want to make you breakfast and treat you like the queen you are to me?"

Ginny grinned back at him and put a hand on his face rubbing it with her thumb. "I love you Harry and thank you for this," she said.

"Only the best for you love," said Harry. He stayed with her the whole time she ate her breakfast, occasionally accepting a grape from Ginny every few minutes.

The whole day was all for Ginny. The twins had transfigured several flying cards to hover around the living room that would every couple minutes sing Happy Birthday Ginny, Hermione spent all morning talking with Ginny about girl stuff that nobody had any idea about except Molly. Molly had made a huge brownie cake knowing that it was Ginny's favorite. Ron had given her a photo album with pictures of all of the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione and some with her and Harry while they were together at Hogwarts. He told her that she could take it with her when she went back to Hogwarts after they left so she would always be able to remember what they looked like. Hermione gave her a new diary that would open to only her touch. Ginny laughed at this when she said that now she could keep Harry from learning "all" her secrets. The twins gave her some of their new products, one of them being a little jewel that would repel any boys that would try to flirt with her except for Harry. Harry like that one, now he wouldn't have to worry about any other boys trying to take her from him seeing as she was very popular among the guys at Hogwarts. Harry had saved his present until later that afternoon so he could drag her away from everyone and outside.

"Ginny, can I see you for a few minutes outside please," asked Harry while everyone else was busy.

Ginny looked at him knowingly, she clearly knew what was about to happen.

"Of course Harry," said Ginny sweetly.

They both slipped out the front door unnoticed and walked through the yard.

"So am I now about to find out what you really got in Diagon Alley Yesterday?" asked Ginny as they moved out of site of the front door.

Harry reached into his pocket and opened the jewelry box to show her the necklace and birth stones around the heart. Ginny gasped at the necklace and instantly threw her arms around Harry and thanked him again and again and again until Harry started laughing at it. He stepped behind her so that he could put it around her neck then she turned around and they shared a very passionate kiss. They held each other against each other as they began to lose each other as they kissed. Harry let his hands drop a little lower than her waist hoping Ginny wouldn't mind but when she let a moan escape her mouth Harry knew that she liked it and wanted him to continue. In response Ginny tightened her grip around Harry's neck and threw one hand into his hair and scratched his scalp. But their loving moment was not to last as someone shouted from behind them, giving Ginny a birthday surprise that she hadn't been expecting.

"Stupefy," Harry heard a voice from behind Ginny. Harry tried to push her out of the way but it was too late and the beam of red light hit Ginny right in the back. She dropped into his arms and passed out. Harry looked over her back and saw fifteen Death Eaters standing there cornering them.


	9. Cornered And Powerless

Harry stared down at Ginny, his face blank with fear. He hardly noticed the Death Eaters standing a mere twenty five feet from them with their wands pointed at them. She couldn't even look up at him; she was completely unconscious and looked as pale as if she had just gotten out of a tub of ice. Remembering what had happened Harry looked up at the Death Eaters with pure hatred on his face. Keeping Ginny held in one arm he reached into his pocket for his wand, but his face became even more shocked when he found it wasn't there.

'Oh no, I left my wand inside,' Harry thought to himself. 'Shite, this isn't good.'

Harry started backing up but a couple of the Death Eaters vanished and reappeared right behind him, completely surrounding him.

'Damn it, what do I do, I can't hold off fifteen Death Eaters by myself without a wand and also protect Ginny, it's a suicide mission.'

"Well well well, look who we found, little Potter and the blood traitor Weasel girl," one of the Death Eaters taunted. Harry didn't recognize the voice but it still was enough to cause him to hold Ginny closer to him and start to shake with fear.

"This is really going even better than the Dark Lord had planned," the Death Eater said. "We expected everyone to be inside and we'd have to charge in and grab Potter while getting rid of anyone who tried to get in the way. But now it seems we have him alone and he doesn't seem to have his wand, and even better we have a bonus in the form of a red head witch. The Dark Lord will be most pleased with us. Although I must say I was hoping for a little more fun."

"You stay away from us, you'll never get Ginny from me, if any of you hurt her you will live to regret it," said Harry, but as he said this he didn't know how he'd be able to live up to that if they did hurt her, which he figured they most likely would. He thought about shouting to the Burrow for help but if he did that they would most likely kill Ginny right here and also hurt others that came out. Harry could tell they were going to be taking him alive because it is common sense that Voldemort wants to be the one who kills Harry and he tells all his Death Eaters to always make sure not to kill him themselves, but Ginny was another story, he wouldn't care if they killed her right here and now. Not knowing what to do Harry just stood on the spot holding the stunned Ginny as close to him as he could.

"If you come along quietly and calmly Potter then we might not hurt anybody, but if you don't then we will have to hurt your little friend here, or should I say girlfriend seeing as you two were considerably close a second ago. Were you enjoying your little moment Potter, it really is a pity that we had to interrupt you during such a touching moment," the Death Eater taunted, clearly hoping that he could get Harry to crack.

Harry didn't even answer; he was looking for any way out of this without Ginny getting hurt. He didn't care if anything happened to him; he was only concerned for her.

"Well let's get out of here before any of those other blood traitor Weasels come out. Grab him and the girl and let's go," said the Death Eater in the middle of the group, Harry supposed he was put in charge by Voldemort. A few others stepped forward.

Harry had no idea what to do, it seemed like the situation was completely hopeless. All around him were Death Eaters with their wands out and pointed strait at him and Ginny. And here he stood with a stunned Ginny in his arms and no wand. Slowly the truth sank into Harry faster than a stone would fall on Jupiter. He had failed to protect Ginny, they were going to be taken to Voldemort and there was nothing he could do to get him and her out of this. Her family would probably never forgive him for allowing this to happen to their only daughter. And that was if he even ever got to see them again. Not knowing what he was doing anymore Harry backed further away from the advancing Death Eaters but closer to the ones behind him.

Just as Harry was about to give up and surrender himself there was a fizzing sound above him. Harry looked up and beamed at what he was seeing. A large transparent dome appeared in the air and closed down around them, spreading 50 feet from the center in all directions. Harry looked all around him and realized what it was; it was the magical barrier that the stranger had showed him back at Hogwarts after the funeral. The stranger was here somewhere and he was obviously coming to help. Harry looked around everywhere for any sign of the man but couldn't see him. The Death Eaters noticed the barrier too and looked at it curiously.

"What's going on here, who conjured this...thing," asked the leader. All the Death Eaters looked around at each other shaking their heads to signal that it wasn't any of them. After every Death Eater had seen the other shake their heads the leader looked back to Harry and Ginny. "Enough of this, now bind them both and let's get out of here."

The Death Eater nearest Harry raised his wand and muttered something quietly but to everyone's surprise except Harry's, nothing happened. The Death Eater looked at his wand curiously, examining it closely but finding nothing strange. He pointed it at Harry again but again nothing happened.

"What is going on here, my wand isn't working," the Death Eater said turning back to his leader.

Harry looked around again for any sign of the stranger but still didn't see him. But he had to be around somewhere. Nobody else could have conjured the barrier, Harry remembered how the man had told him that he had invented the spell and nobody but he knew how to do it. But why had he conjured the barrier but still not shown himself seeing as Harry was still outnumbered by fifteen Death Eaters and he didn't know how to fight like a muggle.

"What is this thing we're in and why won't our wands work," another Death Eater to the side said waving his wand furiously.

"What's wrong, do you sons of bitches not like my magic barrier, because I think it's a pretty fine piece of magic," Harry heard a voice from above him.

He looked up and there he was, standing in the big branches of a tree looking down at the scene below him with his arms crossed. How he could balance so easily was beyond Harry, but that was the least of his worries right now, for his hope of getting himself and Ginny out of this situation alive had been restored at his arrival. The Death Eaters now noticed him and all looked up.

"Who are you, and what do you mean magic barrier," asked the Death Eater leader.

"Well that's what you're in, a magic barrier, and in this barrier magic is completely useless, so your wands may as well be little decorative pieces of wood as long as you're in there," said the stranger grinning down at the leader smirking. "And as to who I am that is not important to you, but it is important for you to know that none of you arse holes will leave here without a lot of bruises and your hands tied together to be escorted to Askaban."

The Death Eaters all started laughing. The leader looked up at him smiling evilly.

"And what made you come to that conclusion? Surely you don't intend to take us on all alone. There are fifteen of us and only one of you."

The stranger simply smiled back at him. "Yeah it doesn't seem very fair does it, me against all of you. Maybe I'll fight without my fists and only my legs, would that make it fairer for you."

The stranger's cheek caused the Death Eater's laughing to stop. They obviously didn't like being cheeked at. They were now showing the stranger more attention than Harry and Ginny; as if they had forgotten that they were even there.

"Harry, just keep close to Ginny and stay back, let me take care of these pathetic excuses for humans," said the stranger putting his serious face back on. Harry didn't even have time to ask what he was planning or how he knew Ginny's name. The man leaped out of the tree in a flying somersault and landed right in the middle of the scene. The instant he landed he stood himself in a ready position, waiting for one of the Death Eaters to attack him.

Harry backed away towards the edge of the barrier and set Ginny down on the ground and knelt close to her but keeping his focus on what was going on in front of him. All the Death Eaters were surrounding the stranger and closing in on him, but the man seemed like he was completely unthreatened just as he had been when Harry had met him. He wasn't showing the slightest sign of fear, like he was enjoying the position he was in. As he stared them all down Harry couldn't help but be a little concerned. He knew that this man knew martial arts but could he really take fifteen Death Eaters all at once by himself even if they couldn't do magic.

'You really got to admire this guy, taking on all these Death Eaters by himself even if there is no magic involved,' Harry said to himself.

Suddenly one of the Death Eaters on the man's right charged forward at him, but the man was ready and reacted as if he knew what was coming before the attacker himself knew. Spinning around he swung a roundhouse kick right at the Death Eater, connecting with the side of his face and sending him toppling to the ground out cold from such a large blow. The other Death Eaters all looked at their fallen ally for a minute then back to the stranger.

"Is that really the best you can do? I mean, I know that most wizards and witches don't know how to fight without magic, but surely you can do better than that," said the man nodding his head to the Death Eater he'd just knocked out and sounding like he was both annoyed and bored.

Resuming his ready position the man glanced around at all the Death Eaters waiting for one of them to attack. All at once the fighting began. Three Death Eaters all attacked the man at once but he sprang into action right as them started. Grabbing the arm of one that swung a punch in midair he aimed a kick right into another's gut right beside him, connecting right in the middle and causing the Death Eater to fall over with a loud moan of pain. Still holding the other Death Eater's arm he spun underneath it twisting it with him and brought his foot up to his chin knocking him out, hearing his collar bone crack as he connected. The last of the three attackers was charging right at the stranger's back but right after breaking the others collar bone he leaped into the air doing a back flip over the last Death Eater's head and landing right behind him. As he landed he swung two lightning quick kicks at the Death Eater, connecting with his gut and under his chin respectively, breaking several teeth as the Death Eater fell to the ground. One after another the rest of the Death Eaters charged the stranger but he effortlessly countered every one of their attacks and made it look like he would have no more difficulty climbing a set of stairs. Finally only the leader remained and it seemed he hadn't learned anything watching all his comrades get knocked out, for he also charged the stranger and ended up getting tripped onto his front. As he charged the man knelt down and spun around swinging his leg at the leader's shins, tripping him so that he fell flat on his face. As the leader made to get back on his feet the stranger quickly jumped back to his own feet and threw his elbow down right into the leaders back as he stood up, knocking him back to the ground and shrieking in pain. Harry could have sworn that he could hear a bone crack in the leader's back even all the way from the side of the fight. Looking like he had only warmed up, the stranger looked around at all the fallen Death Eaters and shook his head frowning as if he was still annoyed and bored.

"So uneducated," he said out loud to himself looking from one to the other. "Far too easy, I really was hoping that these bastards would provide more of a challenge, but I guess I just got my hopes up."

Looking over at Harry still crouched beside Ginny to the side the stranger made his way over to them and knelt down beside him.

"Harry, you need to be more careful where you go, you're always being watched whether you can see them or not and Voldemort will take every chance he gets to capture you, and he won't care who is in the way, it's just a good thing I've also been keeping an eye on you myself in case something like this happened."

"How long have you-" Harry began but the man cut him off before he could finish.

"This isn't the time Harry, I need to get out of here before anyone else comes out, I still do not want to be discovered yet but I had no choice but to step in and help you. Listen, you can tell everyone in the house what happened, but do not tell them that we have met before, tell them that you have never seen me and that you have no idea how I made my barrier. It will be time for me to teach you all this very soon, right after you find the next horcrux and destroy it, until then I will remain hiding on the side keeping an eye on you. And like I said in my letter, keep her close to you because you'll definitely need her when it comes down to the end."

Harry didn't know what to say. He'd just watched this stranger single handedly take on fifteen Death Eaters and didn't show the slightest sign of exhaustion. And he was telling him that he still didn't want anyone knowing that he was around so he would have to tell everyone that he had never seen him before. This was just getting way too out of hand.

"Okay, I'm going to lower the barrier and bind them, and then you need to go get everyone and have them sent off to Askaban before they can escape. After I bind them I'm going to go and return to hiding, but I will still be keeping an eye out for you, and after all this you can't say that's a bad idea."

Harry knew he was right, he had been stupid to come out here without his wand and if this man hadn't been watching he'd be at the hands of Voldemort right now. Not being able to find his voice Harry nodded to him.

"All right, let's get moving then." He pulled his wand out, waved it, and the barrier dissolved into the air. Pointing his wand to all the Death Eaters in turn he bound them and cast an anti apparation jinx. But before he could go Harry found his voice and called out to him.

"Wait, can I at least know your first name so I have something to call you instead of stranger?" asked Harry.

The stranger thought for a second but then turned back to Harry. Surely telling only his first name wouldn't be harmful, he wasn't going to tell anyone about him.

"Bellio, my name is Bellio," said Bellio. "But keep that to yourself, don't tell anybody. If you remember what I told you my mother is a Death Eater and if word of who I am reaches the ears of them then she'll know that I'm back and I don't want her or anyone else to know that until I'm ready. And when the time comes I will face off against my mother myself and I don't want anyone in the way of that."

Harry nodded his head to show that he understood. After this whole event he decided that Bellio really was an ally and could be trusted.

"I won't tell anyone, and I'll find that horcrux so we can put an end to Voldemort forever," said Harry as he felt his spirits rising.

"Farewell for now Harry," said Bellio as he vanished with a pop.

Harry looked at the spot Bellio had vanished for a second then back to the all the Death Eaters lying on the ground. Smiling at the scene in front of him he suddenly remembered that he still had to get Ginny unstunned and contact the ministry and tell them about the Death Eaters they had caught. Picking Ginny up Harry started toward the Burrow but stopped suddenly when he saw the rest of the Weasleys running out of the Burrow and in his direction.

"Oh shite, did they see anything?" Harry asked himself panicking.


	10. Another Change Of Plans

Harry watched as all the Weasleys and Hermione ran out to them with a worried look on all their faces. Harry felt himself relax as he saw all of them and realized that everything was going to be okay; they'd gotten out of that very binding situation and were safe. Suddenly it dawned on Harry that he had to quickly think of something to tell everyone about what had happened without saying that he knew who Bellio was and what he had just done. But what if they'd seen him talking to Bellio and they asked him about it.

'Damn it, maybe this isn't all over yet,' Harry thought to himself.

He looked down at Ginny and held her close to him, trying to think quickly of what he would tell everyone when they asked him what had happened. He looked around for any kind of clue but found nothing. He then also noticed that Bellio hadn't unstunned Ginny, probably so she wouldn't see him Harry thought. He continues to think of anything he could tell them that they would believe but his mind was still crammed with what had happened in the last ten minutes.

Harry started to panic in his mind as all the Weasleys and Hermione ran right up to him and gasped at what they were seeing. Molly saw her daughter in Harry's arms and instantly fell beside him and Harry let her take Ginny in her arms. She pulled out her wand and muttered the counter curse and Ginny sprang back to life and gazed around.

"Mum, what happened, where's Harry," she asked. Ginny looked around and saw all the Death Eaters bound on the ground and she seemed to remember what had happened. "Where's Harry, the last thing I remember is I was attacked from behind while Harry was giving me my birthday present, is he okay." Harry could hear the panic in her voice as she asked about him.

"I'm right here Ginny, I'm okay," said Harry.

Ginny snapped her head around and gazed into Harry's eyes before throwing herself back into his arms and pressing her head against his chest.

"Oh Harry, what happened, I don't remember anything after you gave me my present," Ginny said as she put her hand around the heart shaped necklace around her neck.

"I think we'd all like to know what happened, and I think Harry has quite a story to tell," said Hermione looking at him knowingly. Harry looked back at her with fear in his head. Had she seen too much?

"Well first I think we should get all these ass holes off to Askaban while we still have them here," said Harry looking over his shoulder and scowling at the Death Eaters on the ground.

"I'll take care of that," said Arthur. "I'll make a quick trip to the ministry and have a couple aurors come by and collect them. I'll be back shortly." And with that he vanished on the spot. Everyone turned back to Harry and Ginny.

"Come on Ginny, let's get you inside, you look so pale," said Molly.

Everyone started walking back to the Burrow, although Ginny refused to allow herself to be separated from Harry's protective arms. Harry had no intention of letting her go anyway so he was glad that she wanted to be so close to him right now. They all walked into the sitting room and Molly went into the kitchen to make Harry and Ginny some tea. She came back and handed each of them a cup and sat down in one of the armchairs opposite them. Harry and Ginny were sitting on one end of the sofa with Ginny snuggling up close to him, still refusing to allow herself to be separated from him. Hermione was sitting on the other end of the sofa while Ron, Fred, and George each sat on the other sofa. After about ten minutes Arthur came back and walked into the sitting room himself. Grabbing a chair from the kitchen he sat down and turned to the room.

"The Death Eaters have all been taken to Askaban. I had a talk with the minister and he has made it clear that there will be no mercy shown towards anyone who bares the dark mark and found guilty of servitude to you know who. Anyone found guilty will be executed immediately following trial.

"Well it's good to see that that dumb ass is finally doing something right," said Ron frowning at the mention of the minister.

"RONALD WEASLEY, YOU WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE," said Molly giving her son a death glare.

"Sorry mum, but you can't deny that the minister has been really stupid since he took office last year," said Ron flinching as his mum yelled. "It's just nice to hear that for once he's doing something that actually makes sense to this war.

"I agree, but I think now we'd all like to hear from Harry what happened now that everyone is here," said Hermione looking at the room then to Harry. Now everyone was looking at Harry waiting for him to speak.

Harry started to panic again. He still hadn't been able to think of what he would say to everyone without giving away too much. And he really didn't want to have to answer any questions because he still didn't know everything the whole situation himself. Looking down at Ginny he saw her smile at him. He smiled back and kissed her forehead quickly before taking a deep breath and looking back to the center of the room.

"Well, like Ginny said we were out there because I wanted to give her present to her in private and outside, it seemed more romantic and I really wanted to make it special for her since it was her first birthday with us together. So we went out there and I gave it to her, and as we were, er, well, kissing (everyone gives him a knowing look except Ginny, who instead turned red in the face), someone stunned her from behind. When I looked I saw the Death Eaters all there surrounding us. They taunted me for a while before they said they were going to be taking us both to Voldemort. But then just as they were about to, well it all happened so fast I don't really know everything. Someone just appeared out of nowhere and somehow he fought them all off by himself." Everyone was now wide eyed at the mention of someone new and that he'd fought them all off himself. "He moved so fast I never even saw his face. I couldn't even tell how old he looked. Then just as quickly as he had appeared, he'd knocked them all out, bound them all by their hands, cast an anti apparation jinx and he was gone before I could even say anything to him. And that's pretty much it." Harry prayed that they wouldn't question anything as he waited for someone to say something.

"Wow, amazing, how could anyone just appear like that and do something like that, I don't even think Dumbledore could have moved that fast," said Arthur with his mouth hanging open.

"But why would he just leave before even saying anything. Do you think maybe he had something to hide," asked Ron.

"Well whoever he is Harry and I owe him with possibly our lives," said Ginny as she looked away from Harry for the first time. "I only wish we could have thanked him, or at least seen who he was."

It suddenly dawned on Harry that he hadn't even thanked Bellio for saving his ass like that. He made a mental note to do that the next time he saw him.

"Well whoever that man is I hope that someday he'll show himself again so we can all thank him for his help," said Molly. "Well it's getting late; I think all of you should get ready for bed now."

Harry made his way up to Ron's room and changed into his pajamas as Ron used to bathroom to brush his teeth. He was still thinking about how amazing Bellio was at fighting but how he hadn't even been able to thank him for saving him and Ginny. He didn't even notice Ron come back into the room as he was getting into bed.

"Weird isn't it," said Ron as he climbed into his own bed. Harry looked up and just noticed Ron was back in the room. "This guy just coming out of nowhere with skills like that, I wish I knew how to do stuff like that. If you ever see him again can you tell me, I want to meet that guy and ask if he can teach me some of that stuff."

Harry had no idea how much effect that what Ron was saying would have on him. Harry was now finding himself wanting to start his training from Bellio now. After seeing him fight like that and what he could do made Harry more anxious than he'd ever been for anything in his life, even quidditch. Harry sat back up and looked out the window towards the trees. Was he perhaps still out there right now? What if he went out there and asked him if he could start training him right now instead of waiting until after he finds the next horcrux. After all who knew how long it would be until they found it. They currently didn't have any clues as to where it could be. And wouldn't it be better if he started as early as possible so he could have more time to practice. Harry did some real careful thinking about the whole situation and made up his mind. As soon as Ron fell asleep he would sneak outside and find Bellio so he could ask him to start his training now. He already had the perfect idea as to where they could train without being discovered. So Harry lay back down in his bed and pretended to be asleep as he listened for any sign of Ron being asleep.

Finally, at about eleven he heard a great snore coming from Ron's bed and he quietly got out of his bed and slipped his shoes on while grabbing his jacket. He quietly made his way down the stairs, peaking around the corner to make sure nobody was getting a drink or anything, and made his way to the back door. Once outside he walked over to a concealed area and called out into the night.

"Bellio, are you here, I need to talk to you."

Nobody answered. There didn't seem to be anyone around. Maybe he went to get some rest somewhere after catching the Death Eaters.

Bellio, I really need to talk to you, are you here."

He waited for about a minute for a response but after receiving none he decided that he must not be here right now and that he'd try again tomorrow night. As he turned to go back to the Burrow he heard something drop behind him. He turned around and there was Bellio standing beneath a thick tree. He'd obviously just jumped out of it.

"What is it Harry, after what happened today I thought that you would be more careful about wondering, and coming out here in the dead of night doesn't seem to be very cautious. What if I hadn't been here, huh? Then you'd be easy picking for Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Now whatever it is you want to talk to me about let's make it quick."

"Well first I wanted to thank you for saving Ginny's and my ass earlier today," said Harry. "I realized I never even got to say that. I was just so stunned at what had happened I forgot to.

"You're welcome, just be more on your guard from now on," said Bellio wearing that serious face he always did. "I can't guarantee that I'll always be on the sideline."

"I promise I'll repay you for it when I can," said Harry.

"Harry, all you need to do to repay me is kill that bloody bastard and rid the world of him," said Bellio still looking serious. "Now I feel that you want to say more, because I feel that if that's all you wanted to say it could have waited until another time."

Harry now tried to make himself look more serious but just couldn't get it into his face.

"Well, yes I did. Well, er, the thing is, I wanted to ask if you could start teaching me your skills now instead of later."

Bellio stared at Harry for a few seconds before answering.

"Why do you want to start right now, your mind should be focused on finding the next horcrux."

"But I don't have any idea how long it'll take me to find it. Right now we have no clues as to where it could be. it could take ages to find it. And by then I may have lost so much I might not even be able to fight anymore with anything. But if we started now then you could have so much more time to teach me and give me lots more time to master all of it. And besides after seeing what you did today you got me more excited then I'd ever been to learn something and I want to start as soon as possible. Watching you move the way you did was breathtaking and tempting to learn how to do. The quicker you teach me the sooner I can master all of it and give me more of a chance of beating Voldemort when the time comes because I'll have had plenty of time to learn by then. Trust me, it's better to start now then wait. It's important to me now as much as it is to you to learn this stuff. I want to get rid of Voldemort just like I know you want to face off against your mum, so we're both in this together now. Please teach me now."

Bellio turned and looked away thinking. Harry didn't say anything to him, wanting to let him think clearly and hope that he would agree. Soon he turned back to Harry and smiled.

"All right then. Although I still don't agree completely I'll go along with the way you want to do it. But we won't start tonight, we'll wait until tomorrow. If you had a place you wanted to use you can share it with me. I was planning on taking you to Hong Kong, where I trained."

"I can't go to Hong Kong. It'll have to be close to here so nobody will notice me leaving, and it'll have to be at nights so I'll be able to leave and get back before anyone notices I've left. I did have a place in mind though. My dad and his friends used to go there every month while they were at school. I don't know if you know about it, it's called the Shrieking Shack. Nobody ever goes there so it would provide total secrecy and nobody would ever discover us.

"I have heard of the name before, but I never knew that anyone ever went to that place," said Bellio. "I thought it was the most haunted building in the country."

"It's not, it never was, nobody ever went to it but my dad and his friends once a month," said Harry laughing as he remembered about the old house. "With all the noise they made everyone began to think it was haunted."

"Okay then, if you say this place will provide complete secrecy then that's where we'll train. You'll have to show me where it is though since I've never been there, so we'll meet here tomorrow night as soon as you can then you can take me to the Shrieking Shack. Then after that I'll be able to apparate there on my own normally."

Harry looked at the whole arrangement in his mind and he couldn't see any way to make it more likeable.

"Okay then, we'll meet back here tomorrow night as soon as you can get out here, I'll be waiting in this exact same spot," said Bellio as he was about to apparate away. Harry suddenly remembered that he had some more things he wanted to ask.

"How did you know about the prophecy," asked Harry before he could stop himself. Bellio turned to look at him again as he asked this. "The only ones that knew about it were Dumbledore and myself, and now Ron, Hermione, and Ginny since I told them. How did you know about it."

Bellio's serious face was dropped as he looked down at the ground for a second.

Well, you see like I told you I came back to England about a year ago, a year and a couple months as of now. And when I came back the first place I went was Hogwarts so I could meet Dumbledore and tell him about what I was planning to make. I remember I didn't meet anyone when I arrived and as I made my way to his office. I knew where his office was because I was able to get my hands on a map of the grounds and the castle, so I just made my way to his office. I found the staircase already revealed even though I had read that his office is normally concealed behind a gargoyle, but for some reason it wasn't blocked, so I just walked up the stairs and to his door. But as I was about to knock I heard someone shouting and also a lot of things shattering. It went on for about ten minutes before it stopped. I could still hear talking and it sounded like an old man, which I assumed was Dumbledore. Then I heard him mention your name and something about why you were the one that Voldemort was always after. Then it all got quiet and I heard a woman's voice. That was the prophecy. I never told anyone about it but always remembered it. I just left after I heard it and decided that maybe I would create my barrier and learn to fight then meet Dumbledore. Unfortunately as you know that didn't all work out so I had to change the plan a little bit. So that's how I heard it, I was there that night last year when Dumbledore showed it to you and I have known ever since."

Harry's mouth was dropped as he listened to Bellio reveal more of his story. How could he have been able to stay hidden for so long without anybody knowing about him. And this was the first thing that had ever happened which Dumbledore wasn't able to know about, nothing had ever slipped past him but somehow this had. He brought himself back to reality and remembered something else he wanted to ask.

"Is there any chance you could tell me your mother's name?" asked Harry hopefully, but knew what the answer was going to be instantly as Bellio snapped his face back to its serious faze.

"No, you may have gotten me to tell you everything else but I am not revealing who my mother is yet and I won't until I think the time is right," said Bellio clenching his fists. "But I will tell you this though," and Harry could see his eyes lighting with fire, "when the time comes for us to face off against Voldemort for good, my mother is mine, I don't want anyone getting in the way of that. I have waited far too long to show her what a disgrace of a mother she has been to me for wanting me to become a Death Eater when I was just a little kid and to make her pay for everything she has done to the world and with Voldemort. So make sure that is clear, nobody is to destroy my mother except me."

Harry could tell that he really had been waiting for this and it would most likely be wrong to disagree with him so he just nodded, to scared at the way Bellio looked to answer verbally.

"Okay Harry it's getting really late, you have to get back to the house now and get some sleep. And also as we are about to start your training it is important for you to do these things. Get as much sleep as you can, maintain a healthy diet while drinking lots of water while keeping sweets to an absolute minimum, and also stretch regularly to keep your muscles loose, it really helps. By doing all these regularly your training will be a lot easier and be completed a lot faster.

Harry nodded in understanding, but groaned a little inside at the thought of having to give up his chocolate frogs and butterbeer, but if that was what it would take for him to defeat Voldemort then he was willing to do it.

"Okay then, I'll see you tomorrow night then Bellio," said Harry smiling at his new friend.

Bellio smiled back and then a second later he was gone with a pop. Harry turned back to the Burrow and walked towards the back door. As he came up to the door he felt something inside. He suddenly felt pride and strength flowing into him. All his hatred for Voldemort and his determination to rid the world of him was flowing through him, he had never felt so strong before, and it felt so good. He smiled at this new pride and walked back inside with his head held higher than ever.


	11. Let The Training Begin

As Harry was waking up the next morning all that was on his mind at the moment was his meeting with Bellio last night and what awaited him tonight. He'd never been more excited to learn something in his life. He never even looked forward to DA meetings this much back in his fifth year. But as he rubbed his eyes and reached for his glasses he found something sitting beside him that instantly sent Bellio and the meeting to the very back of his mind.

"Good morning Harry," said Ginny in a sweet voice smiling down at him.

Harry quickly took in her appearance with wide eyes. She was wearing a t-shirt that was very tight on her and showed off her growing womanly form and a pair of skin tight pants. She was also wearing her hair down while tucking it behind her ears.

"Well isn't this interesting," said Harry smiling back up at her.

"And why's that," said Ginny leaning down a little.

"Well yesterday I came to you as you woke up and today it's you coming to me when I wake up," said Harry simply. "But you seem to have forgotten to bring me my breakfast like I did for you," said Harry pretending to look upset, this earned him a light smack on the arm.

"Well that's because I wanted you to wake up to something even better," said Ginny suggestively.

"Oh really, and what would be better in your mind," said Harry in mock confusion.

Suddenly Harry found himself with Ginny lying flat down on him with her lips planted against his. He could feel his insides melting from her touch as all thought about anything other than Ginny seemed to disappear completely.

"Wouldn't you say that this is better," said Ginny softly separating her lips from his and moving to lie beside him.

"Much better," said Harry wrapping his arm around her pulling her closer. Ginny snuggled up against him and buried her head against his chest, wrapping both her arms around his neck and resting them on his right shoulder.

They could have laid there for several hours and not noticed that the time had gone by. They actually might have fallen back to sleep as they were if Ron hadn't come in to get them to come downstairs for breakfast. As he walked in they both had their eyes closed and hadn't seen him, which was good for Ron since they would probably want to hex him together for interrupting such a loving moment they were sharing. So Ron cautiously slipped back out the door and closed it to give himself a shield and knocked. Instantly Harry and Ginny groaned for being disturbed as they looked towards the door.

"Hey Harry, mum says breakfast is ready," called Ron deciding to pretend that he hadn't seen Ginny already.

"Okay, I'll be right down, thanks," called Harry. With that Ron quickly left before anything else could happen.

"Thanks for ruining a perfect moment that is," said Harry to Ginny, causing her to giggle. "Guess we better get down there before someone else comes and sees us like this," said Harry starting to stand up, but Ginny held him back.

"Just let me be close to you for a couple more seconds, I always feel better than ever when I'm close to you," said Ginny reburying her head in his chest. Not wanting to disappoint her Harry let her lay next to him for another minute before suggesting that they not push their luck and go down to breakfast. Ginny groaned in frustration but got up anyway, muttering something to herself about interrupting her best times. Harry grinned at her at the thought of how much he loved her and knowing that she felt the same.

As they walked down the stairs to breakfast the delightful scent of bacon filled up Harry's mind as he sat at the table with Ginny beside him.

As the day progressed Harry's mind drifted back to the night that was awaiting him. He hardly noticed anything that Ron and Hermione said while they were doing their work on the next horcrux and where it might be. All that was on his mind was what he would be doing with Bellio tonight. He made sure to drink plenty of water like he had been told to and not eat any sweets all day, earning a couple suspicious looks from Ron and Hermione when he declined a chocolate frog a little while after lunch. He even had trouble noticing Ginny when she sat down next to him later in the afternoon, but gave her enough attention to avoid any questions being asked. Before Harry knew it he was eating dinner with the rest of the family and shortly after everyone was getting ready for bed.

With his teeth brushed, pajamas on, glasses on his bedside table, and a goodnight kiss to Ginny, Harry climbed into his bed and pretended to go to sleep, but keeping his mind focused on Ron and waiting for his sign to move out. But Ron seemed to be taking longer than usual tonight to fall asleep. He constantly rearranged himself on his bed trying to get comfortable, and once got out of bed to go get himself a drink from the kitchen.

Finally, just as Harry was about to give up and fall asleep and deciding he'd explain to Bellio the next night that it was just taking too long, he had his sign. Ron gave off a loud snore that echoed throughout the whole room. Breathing out of relief Harry hopped out of bed and quickly changed back into his day clothes and grabbed his jacket as he made his way to the door. But as he opened it he could have sworn he heard someone backing away from it as he walked out into the hall. Seeing nobody around though he shrugged it off and made his way downstairs to the back door.

When he got outside he picked up his pace as he walked over to where he had talked with Bellio the previous night. He had expected Bellio to be hiding somewhere when he arrived and to show himself after he got there. But Bellio was standing right underneath a thick tree that was enough to consume him from a distance as Harry approached. As Harry walked up to him he noticed that he had a bag over his shoulder.

"Finally, I was beginning to wonder if you were even coming, I didn't think it would take this long," said Bellio stepping forward.

"Yea sorry about that, but Ron was taking forever to fall asleep tonight and I couldn't leave until he did," said Harry.

*Crack

"What was that," said Bellio instantly retreating back into the shadows looking in all directions.

Harry looked over his shoulder trying to see what had caused the noise. It had sounded like someone had stepped on a branch unawares and cracked it. But just like back when he left his room there was nobody around, just grass and the Burrow about one hundred feet away.

"Harry are you one hundred percent sure that nobody followed you out here," said Bellio from the shadows.

"Absolutely, if anyone had I would have noticed, the area was too open for me to not see someone following me, and you would have seen them too if anyone had been," said Harry still looking around.

"Well, let's hope so, because if anyone finds out about all of this it could completely ruin everything," said Bellio stepping back out of the shadows.

"Well I say we just get a move on and get to the Shrieking Shack so we can get started, because to be honest I'm real excited to start. I don't think I've ever been more anxious to learn something, not even when I first learned to fly," said Harry.

"That's good, shows that you want to learn and it'll make it a lot easier than it would if you didn't want to, and should also make it more enjoyable, even if you do and most likely will receive a few bruises," said Bellio seriously.

Harry looked at Bellio with a little worry at the thought of bruises. It seemed that Bellio had really meant it when he said back when they first met that he would not hold back and would be showing no mercy while he trained him.

"Alright, let's get going now, I'll hold onto your shoulder and you can apparate us to this place, then after that I can apparate there myself every night afterwards," said Bellio stepping forward and putting his hand on Harry's shoulder

Harry nodded and focused on the Shrieking Shack. Remembering that dusty dirty room where he had first met Sirius, where he first met Wormtail, where he learned the truth about the Mauraders and how his parents had really been betrayed, and most importantly Sirius's innocence. He kept his focus on that room and felt that familiar pull around his naval. But about a heartbeat before he apparated away he felt something grab his other shoulder. But he didn't have any time to think about it for he was being lifted away from the spot he was standing on and about a fraction of a second later he was for the second time standing in that dusty dirty Shrieking Shack, and it didn't look any different from the last time he'd been in it. The desk was still as moldy as it had been, the bed was still as untidy as it had been, and Harry could almost swear that some pieces of dirt even looked familiar from the last time.

"Wow, so this is the Shrieking Shack huh," said Bellio looking around. Harry nodded as he continued to take in the room. "Well, I expected it to be dirty, but not to look like nobody has cleaned in about a century, when's the last time anyone was even in here."

"To be honest, I doubt anyone has been within fifty feet of this house since I was last here with Ron and Hermione," said Harry. "You got to remember that almost all the wizarding world still thinks that this place is haunted so nobody ever wants to come near it."

"I can see why, but then again even if it they knew it wasn't haunted I don't think anyone would want to set foot in this place unless they had to, like the reason we're here," said Bellio. "I must say though that you were right, this place will provide us with plenty of space to practice and nobody should ever be able to discover us here. I'll just need to move some of this stuff out of the way so we can use the whole room."

Bellio pulled out his wand and with a couple waves everything in the room was floating towards the back wall and positioning itself neatly against each other to give them a full empty room. And with another wave of his all the dust on the floor vanished.

"Now we have all the room we'll ever need for everything I plan to teach you," said Bellio walking to the center of the room and putting his bag on the ground. "Now the first thing we need to do is change into our training clothes, I brought you a training robe that all martial artists wear while they practice. It's a very loose material that allows completely flexible movement."

Harry watched as Bellio pulled the training robe out of the bag and threw it at Harry and also pulled his own out.

"Go ahead and change into it and we'll get started."

Once Harry changed into his new training robe he instantly realized what Bellio meant about it being loose. He'd never worn anything that allowed such easy movement and felt so comfortable. He waved his arms around to test it and he could hardly feel the material on him as they rotated in circles so smoothly.

"Feels nice doesn't it," said Bellio as he finished putting his own robe on. Harry nodded. "All right, the first thing we'll do every night is stretch our muscles. It's important to do this because it keeps them loose. If you don't stretch before working out it can cause you to get cramps and that will make your workouts very uncomfortable. So just do what I do and make sure you can feel it as you stretch."

For the first ten minutes they stretched their arms, legs, calves, shins, neck, thighs, and quads. Since the only kind of working Harry ever did was quidditch it was hard for him to fully extend his muscles, but Bellio didn't seem to be bothered at all, stretching his arms and legs fully outward it seemed like they couldn't really go that far if you hadn't seen it.

"Okay, first I'm going to be teaching you how to fight before I teach you how to conjure my barrier. You see if you conjure a barrier and it would be useless unless you know how to fight, because then even if magic can't be used, you still don't have any advantage over your opponent because neither one of you would be an experienced fighter, so you need to know how to fight first. Now first I'm going to explain to you the basics of martial arts. When the average man thinks about fighting all they think about is swinging their arms or legs and knocking someone on the ground. But I assure you, it's not that simple. The main thing to fighting is balance. You need to be able to support your weight as you throw your kicks and punches. If you don't lean as you rotate it will never go right. Watch me closely." Bellio demonstrated a roundhouse kick. He spun around and kicked the air while slightly leaning back as he rotated. "See how I leaned back as I spun around, it's important that you don't stay standing up strait otherwise you'll lose your balance and end up on your ass, and you're not going to be able to do much if you're on the ground. Now since this is only our first training session we'll start off slow but as we get further along we'll speed it up and it will get much more intense, so what do you say we get this whole thing going."

"I say let's do it," said Harry as he put on a serious face that matched Bellio's.

"Okay, for now on you must have your attention focused at all times. At any time I may attack you to test you so you always need to be on your guard," said Bellio.

Harry was now nervous. Hearing Bellio say that he could attack him at any random time didn't sound too inviting, but he nodded his head anyway to show he understood.

Harry was expecting Bellio to start talking again about the basics, but he pulled out his wand and twirled it through his fingers. What happened made Harry's jaw drop. Bellio's wand had extended itself and turned into a bo staff.

"This is another spell that I invented myself. It's the only spell that will work while you're inside the barrier and let's you still have a use for your wand," said Bellio as he stopped twirling the bow staff.

Harry didn't know what to say but before he could think of anything Bellio tossed the bow staff towards him. Harry automatically reached his arms up to catch it and paid for his action painfully. He received two lightning quick kicks from Bellio, first in the gut then to the chin. He kicked him with such force that he was knocked right off his feet and onto his back.

"Already you've violated the rule I just set down two minutes ago. You dropped your guard when you reached your arms up to catch the staff. By focusing on the staff and raising your arms you gave me an easy window to take you out. Keep in mind those kicks were only with half the force I could have used. So if you don't want that to happen again, I suggest you do a better job of keeping your guard up.

Harry now knew that this would be the hardest thing he ever did in his life. He felt trying to learn occlumency with Snape would have been easier than this, but he was willing to take whatever it took to learn how to beat Voldemort, so he shook off the extreme pain now in his gut and jaw and stood back up ready for whatever Bellio threw his way.

For the next two hours Harry was put through the hardest training in his life. He watched Bellio demonstrate moves first before trying them himself. He tried not to expect too much of himself since he'd never attempted any of this before but he was determined to learn it so he could fight Voldemort. Bellio also pulled out several small bean bags and told Harry to stand close to the wall while he threw them at him. Bellio explained that this was to test his awareness and how quickly he could react to being attacked. Thanks to years of dodging bludgers Harry actually wasn't too bad at this, but was still hit more than a few times and ended up doing fifteen pushups every time he was hit. But in an attempt to keep him motivated Bellio dropped and did them all with him. After about a half hour of dodging bean bags Bellio showed him how to counter attack when someone attacked him. He demonstrated how to use his forearm to block an attack and quickly strike back with his other arm once the attack was stopped. He only went half speed to give Harry a chance to learn but picked up the speed a little bit as the night went on. Finally after two hours of training Bellio decided to call it a night saying they'd meet here again tomorrow to resume.

"For the first few nights we'll be doing the same stuff but a little faster while you get used to the increased intensity. Once I feel you're ready I'll show you how to turn your wand into a bow staff and how to fight with it," said Bellio.

Harry was quite tempted to ask if they could keep training for a little while longer. Learning all of this was quite interesting and he was quite keen to keep going, but thought against it as soon as he realized how tired he was and that he would need to get plenty of sleep if he wanted to be at full strength tomorrow.

"Here, just let me clean you up real quick and you can change back out of your robe," said Bellio as he spun his bow staff around once and it changed back into his wand. With a wave towards Harry he felt all the sweat on his skin and robe instantly vanish and he smelled like he just got out of the shower. Taking it as a sign to change he pulled off his training robe and put his regular clothes back on while placing the training robe on the now dusted bed.

"Okay, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow night then," said Harry as Bellio was about to disappear.

"Yup, come here as soon as you have a chance to sneak out, I'll be waiting for you," said Bellio. "And keep this in mind, every night I'll be making everything a little harder than it was the previous night, so don't think that we'll be slacking off anytime soon."

"I won't, I'll be here tomorrow ready to go," said Harry grinning at his new friend.

"And tomorrow you can expect me to be joining you two in all of this," said a voice from the corner.

Harry and Bellio snapped their heads to the corner where the voice had come from and their jaws dropped at what happened next.

Ginny was pulling Harry's invisibility cloak off and frowning at both men standing in front of her.

Harry and Bellio both stared at the new arrival and were at a complete loss for words. Harry finally found his voice after a couple seconds.

"Oh shite."


	12. Harry's New Partner

Harry and Bellio just stared at Ginny as she frowned at the two young men. This was something they had definitely not been expecting.

After a few awkward moments of silence Ginny decided to break the silence by speaking first.

"So Harry, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend here or are we just going to have to stand here all night staring at each other in silence?" asked Ginny acting like nothing was out of the ordinary.

Harry didn't know what else to say but he tried to find his voice and speak.

"Er, Ginny, this is Bellio, Bellio, this is my girlfriend Ginny," Harry said looking at both in turn.

"Nice to meet you Bellio, Harry here has never mentioned anything about you before, how do you two know each other," asked Ginny although she sounded like she already knew the answer.

Suddenly Harry had his voice and mind back fully and started to put two and two together.

"Wait a minute; it was you making all those noises earlier wasn't it? When I left the room and heard someone backing away, the crack outside the Burrow right before Bellio and I apparated, someone grabbing my shoulder as we apparated, it was all you wasn't it?" said Harry accusingly.

"Yes Harry, all of that was me, and I am very grateful that it took you until now to figure it out otherwise I would not have seen all of this and not be able to join you two tomorrow night when you come here again," said Ginny as she gave Harry a death glare.

"Ginny, I do not want you to have any part of this, this is between me and Bellio, nobody was even supposed to know about this except for us," said Harry. Ginny's face instantly turned deadly as her chocolate brown eyes quickly lighted up with fire.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER, YOU MADE A PROMISE TO ME THAT YOU WILL NOT LEAVE ME OUT OF ANYTHING FOR NOW ON. YOU PROMISED ME THAT WHEN YOU TOLD ME ABOUT THE HORCRUXES AND YOU NOT TELLING ME ABOUT ANY OF THIS IS IN VIOLATION OF THAT PROMISE. IF YOU EVER WANT US TO STAY TOGETHER THEN YOU WILL JUST HAVE TO GET OVER THIS NOBLE PROTECTIVE STUFF OF YOURS AND LET ME IN."

Harry was surprised that the old shack wasn't falling apart from Ginny's shouting. True he had promised her that but he had also promised Bellio that he wouldn't tell anyone about him.

"Ginny, you have to understand, Bellio didn't want anyone to know about him but me, you can't be mad at me for respecting his wishes. He didn't want anyone knowing about him but me so that the chances of anyone finding out about him were kept to nonexistent.

"How do you even know that he is on our side? He could be a spy by Voldemort just scamming his way into earning your trust then betraying you once he thinks you do," said Ginny accusingly.

"Now Ginny believe me, when I first met him I thought the same thing, and for a while I didn't know whether or not I could trust him, but I discovered that he could be trusted when he saved us the other day from those Death Eaters," said Harry deciding the only way he would be able to convince her would be to tell her of how he had saved them.

Ginny instantly turned her head and stared at Bellio, her expression changing dramatically at hearing this news.

"You were the one who saved us?" said Ginny in a much softer voice.

"Yes, it was me who fought off those fifteen Death Eaters while you were stunned," said Bellio speaking for the first time since Ginny had revealed herself. "Ever since Harry and I first met I have been watching him every second of the day from a distance. Shortly after you were stunned and the Death Eaters surrounded you two, I stepped in and trapped them in my magic barrier.

"Yes I remember you saying something a little earlier about a magic barrier while I was hiding, what is this thing anyway," asked Ginny now very interested.

Bellio turned to look at Harry with a defeated face.

"It looks like we aren't going to get much sleep tonight, and once I tell her who I am and my story we'll have no choice but to let her join us. I feel like I can trust her though, she is after all the one you trust more than any other in this world is she not?" asked Bellio.

"Yes, Ginny is the one I would trust above any other with anything, I'd trust her with my life without hesitation," said Harry. Ginny looked at Harry with shining eyes, she clearly didn't expect Harry to say that.

"Okay then, Ginny, I will tell you who I am and what my plan is," said Bellio as he pulled out his wand summoning a few of the chairs from the corner.

As the hour passed by Bellio told Ginny everything he had told Harry the day they had met. Everything about how he had left home as a small child, growing up in Asia, his mother being a Death Eater, how he learned martial arts and created his magic barrier, and his plan to teach Harry everything he knew. He did leave out who his mother is, still being unwilling to reveal that part to even Harry.

"Wow, I don't know what to say," said Ginny clearly impressed and in awe.

"I know, it was hard growing up the way I did but it was better than staying and becoming like my mother," said Bellio.

"So if you want to help fight Voldemort, then why don't you join us in the Order?" asked Ginny once Bellio had finished.

"I can't, I must remain hidden from the world until I feel it is time for me to reveal myself," said Bellio. "I know about the Order and that they are all trusted members, but I can't risk the smallest chance of anyone finding out that I'm here and if just one wrong person that is connected with Voldemort finds out about me my mother will know and if she finds out that I'm back after so many years then my whole plan could be ruined. If nobody knows about me then the chances of them ever finding out until I want them doesn't exist."

Harry couldn't say he was pleased that Ginny was now a part of this, but he knew that if there was one person in this world that he could trust above anyone else not to tell anyone outside the Shrieking Shack about all of this it was her.

"Ginny, I trust that you won't tell anyone about all of this, but I don't want you joining us in this training," said Harry.

"Absolutely not Harry, I'm a part of this now and I have every intension of fighting by your side," said Ginny fiercely. Harry knew that she would say that and didn't know how he was going to talk her out of this. And the last thing he wanted was Ginny involved in any more danger.

"Ginny please underst-"

"No you understand this Harry James Potter, you have shut out your friends and loved ones for far too long in so many things. If you think that I am going to just stand by and let you do it again you are even thicker than my dumb ass brother."

Bellio looked like he was doing some serious thinking and it looked like he was about, to Harry's horror, side with Ginny and let her join them.

"Harry, I think that we should let her join us now that she knows. This young lady is obviously very strong and you did just say that she is the one you trust above anyone else in the world. It would actually be good to have someone else to train with you now that I think about it; I just never expected someone so trustworthy would present herself."

"If I wasn't his most trusted friend then I'd feel betrayed," said Ginny cheekily. "Because I trust Harry more than I've ever trusted anyone in my life."

Harry quickly looked at Ginny with shock in his eyes. To hear something like that was really touching to him. He knew that Ginny must trust him a lot when they were as close as they were, but to hear that she trusted him more than she'd ever trusted anyone in her life was something he considered an honor.

"Ginny, of course I trust you more than anyone and you know that I love you," said Harry not willing to give up. "But I would never be able to live with myself if anything happened to you. Too many people that I love have died for me and if you became next on the list I'd probably die myself inside. Losing you would rip my soul right out of my body; I'd lose my will to fight. I just can't let anything happen to you, I love you too much."

Sensing what was about to happen Bellio turned away and stared at the wall humming to himself quietly.

Ginny launched herself into Harry's arms and kissed him stronger than she ever had before. Her arms flew around his neck and Harry's around her back. They held each other so close that every inch of them was touching. They kept their lips against each other for several seconds before they pulled apart but their faces were still only about an inch apart. Resting their foreheads on each other's they stared into each other's eyes.

"I love you too Harry, I always have," said Ginny softly. "I want to fight beside you, I know that the last thing you want is to lose me and you want to protect me. But you can't do this alone, you need all the help you can get and in wars people are going to get hurt, it's a part of life. I want to fight for the same reason you do. I refuse to let you do any of this without me, I love you and I will not let you do this alone."

Harry was running out of arguments. He knew she was right; he did need her beside him at all times. Without her he was practically nothing because he was always worrying about her and whether or not she was safe, but with her he was stronger than ever. Perhaps it would be best if he allowed her to fight beside him. He would still worry about her but they would both be stronger together than keeping secrets from each other. So with one deep breathe he gave up and decided to allow her in.

"Ginny, I would be honored to have you fight with me. As much as I don't want you to get hurt I need you beside me just like you need me. Together you, me, and Bellio can do this," said Harry. Harry just realized that Bellio was still there and being ignored currently. But once he looked over at him he saw that he was showing respect by giving them their privacy.

Bellio seemed to know that they were done because he turned around smiling.

"So it looks like we are a team of three now. But Ginny, if you are going to train with us then you better be willing to go through the most intense training you will most likely ever experience," said Bellio taking up that serious tone that Harry normally heard him use.

"I'll do anything it takes to help Harry," said Ginny taking his hand.

"Okay then, but you'll have to follow the same training strategy that I have told Harry to use. You must get plenty of sleep at night so no late night events. You must eat healthy with every meal, no more sweets, so you better get used to having nothing from Honeydukes real quickly and also no butterbeer. The training you will go through with me will be intense, and I will not hold back because if you want to become as strong as possible then you must learn to fight me when I'm going at my full. It will get tougher every night and you can only do this if you are fully willing to never quit and go through pain. Any pain you receive here though I can cure myself, I also know a great deal about healing spells for any injuries you receive. And lastly, learning my magic barrier will require a lot of emotional training. It will only work as long as your mind is fully focused on it. So Ginny, are you prepared to go through all of this with me and Harry?"

Ginny's expression showed that she was nervous about everything that she would be going through but she was fully prepared to go through it if it would help Harry.

"Absolutely, like I said I'm willing to do anything to fight beside Harry and help him," said Ginny as she tightened her grip on Harry's hand.

Bellio smiled at her determination, showing that he was impressed.

"Very well then, tomorrow you will join us in our training, so there's no turning back now, you're officially on board with me and Harry," said Bellio. "Since you are still underage though you will have to make sure you side apparate with Harry when you come here. And you must always remember never to speak of anything we do to anyone besides the three of us in this room."

"Will I get one of those training robes that you gave Harry," said Ginny a little desperately. Harry could tell that she had been waiting to ask this.

Bellio let a small laugh escape him. Harry was a little surprised; this was the first time he had ever seen Bellio laugh. Come to think of it he didn't think he'd ever seen him smile before about a half an hour ago.

"I will get you a robe to train in; I'll have it for you tomorrow night when you arrive. But right now it is late and we all need to get out of here and get some sleep for tomorrow. We won't accomplish much if we're trying to train while we're exhausted. Now tomorrow night as soon as everyone else in your house is asleep both of you move out and come strait here and we'll get started. Ginny I assume that you saw me teaching the basics to Harry so I'll be able to start you right where Harry and I stopped tonight."

Ginny nodded to show that she was watching and paying attention earlier. Bellio seemed to be relieved that he wouldn't have to go through everything again tomorrow that he already went through tonight. Harry looked at his watch and noticed that it was now almost three in the morning. He hadn't realized that it had gotten so late and he was getting really drowsy.

"Hey guys I am getting really tired so I say we get out of here for the night," said Harry with a yawn.

Bellio also seemed to be getting pretty tired with the extra time they spent in the Shack since Ginny had shown herself so he didn't even need to think.

"Yes, let's go now, I'll see you both tomorrow night, and remember to rest well and drink plenty of water," said Bellio and with that he vanished from the spot he was standing on.

"Well I guess we better get out of here too huh," said Ginny smiling up at Harry.

Harry smiled back down at her and took her hand. Right before they vanished to go back to the Burrow Ginny placed a gentle kiss on Harry's cheek.


	13. Chaos At Kings Cross

It had been two weeks since Harry and Ginny had started training together with Bellio, and they were slowly progressing. Every night they would sneak out together after everyone was asleep, meet Bellio in the Shrieking Shack, train for about 3 hours every night, and leave. Every night Bellio increased the intensity of their training, which also increased their bruises. But with a little treatment from Bellio they only lasted a few minutes and it felt as if they never had them.

Now it was the last day of August, meaning Ginny would be going back to Hogwarts the next day. Harry had talked it through with both Bellio and Ginny and told Ginny that he would be giving her both his invisibility cloak and the Mauraders Map so that she would be able to sneak out of the castle at night and still train with them.

Harry fell on his back as they were finishing up another night of training.

"Phew, I don't think I'll ever get used to this intensity," said Harry clearly exhausted.

Ginny lay on her back next to him and took his hand in hers.

"I know what you mean, I've never done anything so hard," she said just as exhausted. "It's amazing how we aren't dead from all of this."

Bellio looked down at both of them and looked so calm it was almost as if he had sat back and just watched while the two of them trained.

"Don't worry about all of that, it does get easier the longer you do it," said Bellio sitting down in front of them. "It was tough for me at first too when I was younger but as long as you keep doing it every night and make it a routine eventually it will get a lot easier and you will be able to do it a lot longer without getting tired."

Harry let out a large groan.

"Yea well I just hope I'm still alive by then, because I feel like I'm an inch from dying of exhaustion every night when we finish," said Harry.

Ginny pressed a soft kiss on his cheek to comfort him and he slowly relaxed.

"Well I think that's enough for tonight, so let's get out of here and we'll meet back tomorrow night," said Bellio standing back up and stretching his arms. "And Ginny you're absolutely sure that you can still get out here now that you'll be living at Hogwarts again?"

"Absolutely, with Harry's invisibility cloak and his map of the school I'll have everything I need to get out of the castle and here unseen," said Ginny standing up and pulling Harry to his feet who was pretending he was too weak to move. "And Harry told me about the knot in the Whomping Willow that freezes it so there won't be any trouble getting in here either."

"Excellent," said Bellio smiling. "And tomorrow I think it's time we start fighting with a bow staff, so be ready to continue to progress in your training now that you have mastered the basics."

Both Harry and Ginny looked at Bellio excitedly. To hear him say that they were progressing on made them feel good about what they had done. True they had been getting better with their fighting skills and also becoming more aware. Just the previous night they had managed to avoid being hit every time when they did the drill of Bellio throwing the bean bags at them while they dodged. And they had gotten much more comfortable balancing while they swung their legs in kicks and when flipping into the air. Ginny had actually done a full back flip two nights ago without using her hands. And Harry came close to doing a no hand cart wheel a couple hours ago. Now that they looked at themselves more closely, they could see the improvements in themselves and that they were getting the hang of everything. They were stronger, smarter, faster, and more aware of everything going on around them. Bellio had even started fighting more aggressively while they practiced and they were keeping up a lot more. Now they just needed to try to stay more fresh and not tire out as easily.

"All right then, I'll be following you two when you go to King's Cross tomorrow but like always I'll be watching from a distance," said Bellio.

"Thanks Bellio, we can never thank you enough for all of this," said Ginny as stood next to Harry to side apparate with him.

"See you two tomorrow," and with that he vanished on the spot.

They stood there for a couple seconds just looking at the spot he had vanished on.

"Well come on love, I'm tired and we need to make sure we get enough sleep for tomorrow when we go to King's Cross," said Harry holding her hand a little tighter.

With a look into each other's eyes and a smile they vanished to head back to the Burrow and get some sleep.

Harry felt like he had only been in bed for a couple minutes before he heard Molly shouting from outside the door for everyone to get up.

"Come on, if anyone wants breakfast before we go to King's Cross then you better get up, otherwise you're going to just have to go hungry," called Molly. Harry wondered if she was calling out to all of them or just Ginny since he, Ron, and Hermione would not be returning. Maybe she hoped that they had changed their mind and by acting like it was a normal first day they would still go back. Harry looked sad at the thought of not returning to Hogwarts but forced himself to remember that it was for the best that they did not return.

With one great effort Harry forced himself up and out of his bed and went over to the dresser to get some clothes. After a quick shower he went down to the kitchen where the rest of the Weasley's and Hermione were already eating. Arthur appeared to have already left for work since he wasn't present so it seemed only Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Molly would be going to King's Cross to see Ginny off. Harry sat down next to Ginny where he received a good morning kiss on the cheek, and took a piece of toast from the basket in the middle of the table.

"Hurry up and eat, anyone who wants to come along and see Ginny off we only have thirty minutes before we all have to leave, for some reason every year you all want to take your time in the morning and almost miss the train. For once can't we not be in a hurry on September 1st," said Molly with a groan as she waved her wand at the dishes in the sink so that they started cleaning themselves.

"Mum rewax, Inny's alwedy acked and the est of us are alweady weady to go," said Ron while he forced down a mouthful of grapefruit. Hermione looked at him with disgust on her face. Harry and Ginny both laughed.

"For heaven's sake Ron, can't you swallow and then talk, not the other way around," said Molly with a look of deep disgust on her face that matched Hermione's.

"Sorry," said Ron rolling his eyes.

After twenty more minutes everyone had finished eating, brushed their teeth, and was downstairs as the ministry car that was to take them to King's Cross pulled up to the house.

Harry looked out on the horizon to see if he could see Bellio anywhere, but knew that he would be too well hidden to actually be seen. Putting his head down he got into the car and sat next to Ginny in the lengthy back seat with Hermione. Ron and Molly sat on the sofa sized passenger seat in front as the driver of the ministry car pulled away.

They arrived at King's Cross station with about twenty five minutes to spare. Harry went to get a trolley for Ginny while everyone else was already saying their good bye's to Ginny. Harry put Ginny's trunk on the trolley for her and being the caring boyfriend he was pulled it for her to the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Ron and Hermione went together first followed by Molly. Ginny went through next with a quick wink at Harry. Harry brought up the rear with Ginny's trunk.

There was still twenty minutes to spare so they took their time walking to the open compartment at the end of the train.

"Ginny, I really do wish that we were going back with you but we just can't, I'm sorry," said Ron hugging his sister.

"I feel the same way, but we'll all see each other during the holidays and we'll make sure to write every week about everything that comes up," said Hermione. Harry noticed how she stretched out everything to mean that they would inform her if they found any more information about the remaining horcruxes. Harry had still been spending the day times with Ron and Hermione trying to find any kind of hints as to where they may be. They still had to find Hufflepuff's cup, something of Ravenclaw's then finally Nagini.

After Molly bed her only daughter farewell only Harry was left to see her off. The other three backed away a little bit to give them a little privacy that they knew they would want.

"I love you Ginny, just remember to be careful when sneaking out at night to get to the Shrieking Shack," Harry whispered so nobody but her would hear. "Mrs. Norris can be a real pain if you cross her even when you are wearing the cloak," said Harry remembering the many times where the annoying caretaker's cat had almost given him away even while he was wearing his cloak.

"I'll be sure to give her your love if I see her anytime," said Ginny teasingly as she threw her arms around Harry and kissed him full on. Harry took her in his arms and kissed her back equally, savoring her taste as if this really was the last time he would see her for months, even though they would be meeting again tonight for more training. But now he wouldn't be able to see her during the day, only at nights and that just wasn't enough, he wanted to be next to her all the time.

"I'll see you tonight love," said Ginny as she turned to step onto the barrier.

That's when it happened. A huge blast came from about fifty feet away and dozens of cloaked figures appeared with their wands drawn.

"Find Potter, kill anyone who gets in the way, but Potter must be brought in alive, do not make any mistakes," yelled one of the cloaked figures, and Harry recognized the voice instantly, it was Lucius Malfoy, he was here leading a group of about thirty other Death Eaters.

But as suddenly as they appeared all the people were being blown away from the Death Eaters. Harry looked up and saw exactly who he hoped he would see. Bellio was standing on top of the station pointing his wand down at all the families on the platform, clearing them away from danger. As the Death Eaters all marched forward to find Harry he saw Bellio perform his special ability. The barrier was forming and all the Death Eaters were unaware of it. Harry quickly realized that there were many more Death Eaters this time than two weeks ago and that they would need to help Bellio, but if they didn't get inside the barrier before it closed then they wouldn't be able to help him, he would have to fight them all alone, and as great a fighter he was, he was unsure if he could take this many alone. Grabbing Ginny's hand they both sprinted forward to beat the barrier as it closed.

"HARRY, GINNY, COME BACK, WHAT ARE YOU DOING," Ron shouted from the group as he tried to move forward to help them.

They both ignored him and kept running to beat the closing barrier.

"There he is, there's Potter," called one of the Death Eaters in front pointing strait at Harry as he ran towards them. The barrier was only about twenty feet from going into the ground.

Before the Death Eaters could all spread out the barrier came low enough for them to notice and they all looked at it confused.

Harry and Ginny took this chance while they were distracted to break into a dead sprint and dive under the barrier just seconds before it closed, trapping themselves inside with the Death Eaters, who did not know that they could not use magic anymore.

"What is this thing we're in," said one of the confused Death Eaters as they all started muttering among themselves. Nobody seemed to notice that Harry and Ginny were inside with them. Harry looked at them all and recognized apart from Malfoy that Dolohov and Macnair were also there. Harry started looking around to see if Bellatrix Lestrange was also among the cloaked figures, but he didn't see her anywhere.

"Never mind that, Potter seemed to want to join us in here so let's just get him and get out of here," called another Death Eater finally noticing that Harry and Ginny were there.

Harry looked up outside the barrier and saw Bellio leap off the building in a flying somersault just as he had done from the tree two weeks ago. He crashed through the barrier unharmed since he was the caster and the only one who could pass through it and landed right in front of Harry and Ginny facing the thirty or so Death Eaters.

"Well it seems we have another visitor who wants to play," said Dolohov. "Too bad they can't count otherwise they would realize there are thirty of us and only three of them," he said with a laugh and everyone else started laughing thinking that the three of them must be incredibly stupid.

"Well then if you're so sure that you can easily defeat us then go ahead and bind us why don't you," said Bellio taunting them. "Surely Voldemort doesn't want to wait to get his hands on us." All the Death Eaters stopped laughing.

"You dare speak the Dark Lord's name through your lips," said Malfoy.

"What are you going to do about it, stutter at me"? asked Bellio unafraid.

"I think that the Dark Lord will be most interested in meeting and educating you my good man," said Malfoy stepping forward. "Perhaps we'll take all three of them alive so they can all suffer together at the hand of the Dark Lord."

"Well in order to do that won't you have to actually capture us first," said Bellio still completely unafraid, sounding as if he was enjoying the whole situation. The Death Eaters resumed their laughing.

"You think that all of us will have any trouble capturing three people single-handedly. It seems that nobody can get in here to stop us, whatever this thing is, they all seem to be stuck on the outside," said Malfoy looking over Bellio's shoulder at everyone on the outside.

Harry looked behind him and sure enough Ron, Hermione, and Molly were all right outside the barrier trying to get inside and help them along with several others that seemed to want to help him, Ginny and Bellio.

"Well then since you outnumber us by so many why don't you just do it already," said Bellio turning to face Malfoy again.

"This one is starting to get annoying," said Malfoy as he pointed his wand at Bellio.

"Stumpefy," he cried directing his wand at him, and Harry smiled when nothing happened as he knew it would. Malfoy looked down at his wand with confusion.

"What the hell is going on here, everyone stun them," said Malfoy trying again. Every Death Eater in the pack pointed their wands towards the three trying to stun them, but none of them had any more luck then Malfoy did. Harry was taking in the sight and thought they all looked like a bunch of conductors trying to direct a band but having no success.

"Well now, it seems that your wands don't want to work, I guess my magic barrier just doesn't like them too much," said Bellio grinning. "Harry, Ginny, should we show these dumb asses what you should do in a situation like this," said Bellio taking his fighting stance. Harry and Ginny nodded to each other and prepared to take their first real test as fighters.

They removed their jackets and threw them aside to give themselves less weight on their arms as they stepped up beside Bellio. All the Death Eaters were looking curious and spread out a little bit among each other.

"Harry, Ginny, both of you stay close to one another. Don't worry about me though, I can handle myself, but you two help each other out in whatever way you can," said Bellio.

"Right," said Harry and Ginny together.

"LET'S GO," Bellio cried and he charged forward, Harry and Ginny coming up right behind him.

Bellio jumped into the air and somersaulted right over the front row of Death Eaters and landed in a vacant space near the middle of the group. He quickly pulled out his wand and spun it through his fingers turning it into a bow staff. As fast as he pulled it out he knocked it into the heads of the closest body in the face, swinging a kick at another knocking that one to the ground and sending him tumbling into two more Death Eaters causing them all to stumble over. Harry and Ginny meanwhile had attacked the Death Eaters in front that had looked up as Bellio jumped over them and as punishment for turning away they all received sharp kicks in the guts. As they gasped for breathe holding their stomachs Harry and Ginny swung kicks at them knocking them to the ground.

Harry caught a quick glimpse of Bellio and he seemed to be having no trouble at all knocking one Death Eater after another to the ground, and at the same time spinning his bow staff in all directions to prevent himself from being ambushed by a number of Death Eaters at once, for they could not get through to him without getting hit by it.

Harry and Ginny weren't having as much luck, several of the Death Eaters they knocked down were able to get back up and fight back a little bit. Although none of them knew how to fight at all, they still were able to get a few hits in on Harry and Ginny, but with their new toughness they took the punches and by fighting together they were able to stay strong and protect each other.

Punch after punch, kick after kick the Death Eaters began to fall in numbers, but Harry and Ginny were running out of energy. They were finding it hard to keep throwing kicks at the Death Eaters as they felt their muscles getting tired. Bellio however seemed like he was still warming up, he hadn't slowed down at all since he started. The Death Eaters seemed to be trying to drift away from him and gang up on Harry and Ginny since they were getting tired. Bellio quickly acknowledged this and leapt to their defense, jumping in to the air and kicking with both his legs, knocking out two Death Eaters at once to make a clear path to Harry and Ginny.

"Come on you two, you can't stop now, I know you both still have a lot of fight left in you," said Bellio as he swung his legs under another Death Eaters tripping him up and falling onto his back.

Neither Harry nor Ginny had time to respond as they both were attacked again by separate Death Eaters. Barely blocking the attacks, Harry elbowed his attacker in the jaw and grabbed his arm flipping him over onto his back. He quickly chanced a look towards Ginny and gasped. She was being restrained by her attacker and couldn't move. With one swing another Death Eaters standing in front of her punched her in the stomach and she fell over gasping for breath.

Harry didn't know what made him do it, but he felt like some kind of explosion just went off inside of his own stomach. He could do nothing but stare at the piece of filth that had punched the one he loved and wanted nothing more than to tear his head off.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH."

As he screamed a strange glow reflected off of him. A huge gust of wind appeared like a small tornado and blew everyone close to him off their balance. And a fraction of a second later Harry has leapt right at the Death Eater that had punched Ginny and punched him in the face so hard that he went flying backwards through the air and hit the edge of the barrier, which happened to be ten feet from where he was standing.

As quickly as Harry had gained such amazing strength it seemed to vanish, and he once again felt exhausted. But he didn't have time to think about what had just happened, for he was once again being attacked by the remaining Death Eaters, although they were a little hesitant after just witnessing what Harry just did. He grabbed the arm of another Death Eater that tried to punch him and flipped him onto his back, twisting it causing it to crack and break. Harry quickly chanced a glimpse at Ginny and she seemed to have regained her strength as well. She was back on her feet and fighting again. Running through a small gap she did a cartwheel and back flip and finished with a flying back flip over Dolohov's head and kicked him twice as he turned around, first in the gut then in the chin. The Death Eaters were starting to run thin but Harry and Ginny were also getting more and more tired. Harry wasn't sure he would last longer than a few more minutes.

Suddenly Harry felt a quick whiz past his head as Bellio's bow staff flew right past him and connected with a Death Eater's face behind him that was about to hit him from behind. Bellio clearly had seen it and threw his bow staff like a spear to stop him, scoring right in the center and hitting the Death Eater on the nose. Bellio showed off his speed by catching the staff as it bounced off the Death Eater's face and back into his hands and smacked him in the head with it sending him to the ground clutching his nose. With one more stab in the gut the Death Eater passed out cold.

There were only six Death Eaters left, one of them was Malfoy. Bellio, Harry, and Ginny all stood next to each other facing the remaining of their attackers, Harry and Ginny exhausted and Bellio still looking fresh.

"Impressive, to be able to have such skills as a wizard," said Malfoy. "I must admit that I am impressed that you can fight so well without using magic. But to see Potter and the little Weasley girl fight almost as well is much more surprising. You must have been teaching them."

"Fuck off, it's none of your business," said Bellio clearly not wanting to be distracted. "Let's stop talking and finish this."

"And with that he charged forward again. The Death Eaters seemed to be too afraid to attack him now as three of the remaining six tried to run out of the barrier, only to be stopped at the end since they couldn't pass through it. Bellio spun his bow staff so fast that it was like a deadly fan as he sped towards the cowards. Stopping in front of them he tossed his staff into the air at them where they reached up to block it. With that little window Bellio round house kicked all three of them at once with so much force that they all fell to the ground knocked out.

Harry couldn't remember ever feeling so exhausted, nothing he had ever experienced before could compare to the desperate breathing he was letting out right now. He was still able to stop one more Death Eater's attack on him by grabbing his arms and falling on his back to throw him over him across the fighting ground. The Death Eater landed on his side and rolled his ankle as he did, yelping in pain.

Ginny took out her last attacker when he caught her kick she spun around onto the ground and kicked with her other leg connecting right with the Death Eater's mouth, sending him toppling backwards. She jumped back to her feet and punched him one more time in the face as he was about to get up, knocking him out cold.

Now only Lucius Malfoy remained standing and the three of them surrounded him.

"How could this happen, how could three people defeat an army of Death Eaters single handedly," Malfoy said out loud to himself.

"It's because you dumb asses aren't smart enough to plan for any situation," said Bellio stepping in front of him. "You rely so much on magic that you have no knowledge of how to fight without it, and by getting yourself trapped in my magic barrier it makes every one of you totally vulnerable to my combined skills of magic and martial arts. And thanks to Harry and Ginny they now know how to fight without magic too. Now say good night chum." And with that Bellio swung his bow staff one more time into Malfoy's face knocking him to the ground.

Harry and Ginny looked at the scene around them. Thirty Death Eaters lay unconscious around them inside the barrier. Harry was amazed at both himself and Ginny for winning a fight like this when they had only been training for two weeks.

"I'm very proud of you two," said Bellio. "You fought much better than I expected you to, and I am very impressed. To fight at the level you did after only two weeks of training is something I have never seen done before. I had to train for about two months before I could do some of the things you did. And even then I still wasn't as good as you were during this fight. I am very proud of both of you and if you both keep this up, you will only get better every day, and you will also find that you will be able to fight a lot longer once you get more up to speed."

Harry was too tired to say anything so he just nodded his head in response as he gasped for breathe. Ginny nodded her head too while panting.

"You two wait here now, I'm going to modify everyone's memory that was watching outside so they will have no idea that any of this happened. I'll take all these ass holes to Askaban myself and just leave them on the doorstep bound together." With one last twirl of his bow staff it shrank back into his wand and he walked outside the barrier.

Everyone had backed away from the outer layer as he walked outside and nobody seemed to be able to find any words. With a couple flicks of his wand though everyone present had their memories wiped of the last half hour and with another wave of his wand the barrier dissolved.

"After this whole event, why don't we take tonight off so you two can rest up well, I think after a performance like that you deserve a nice break, we can pick up again tomorrow night, for now just rest up well," said Bellio gathering all the bodies together.

"Thanks…Bellio," said Harry still taking deep breaths. He picked up his jacket and put it back even though he was sweating something awful. With two more flicks of his wand he cast cleaning spells on Harry and Ginny and they looked like they hadn't so much as swung a single punch, they were both completely clean and calm.

With one last look back at them Bellio touched the bodies and disapparated with them into thin air.

"Harry come on, we have to get back over by the train before it leaves and so nobody will suspect anything," said Ginny pulling on Harry's arm.

They quickly made their way back to Ginny's trunk and acted like nothing had just happened.

"Well, I guess I'll say good bye one more time," said Harry kissing Ginny once again on the lips. They broke apart after a few seconds and looked into each other's eyes.

"I love you," said Ginny.

"I love you too Ginny," said Harry as he stepped back so Ginny could walk onto the train.

"See you tomorrow night love," Ginny called just loud enough for him to hear.

As Harry waved good bye Ron, Hermione, and Molly stepped back beside him, completely unaware of what had happened a few minutes ago, and waved good bye to Ginny as she stuck her head out the window of her compartment. Harry continued waving good bye until the train had rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight.


	14. More Teachings And Losses

A/N This chapter is a combination of my own story and the actual seventh book. It quickly moves through the school year, including the parts where Harry, Ron, and Hermione discover the remaining horcruxes in Gringots and at Hogwarts from the real book, only they won't be found within the same day, but months separate from each other. But after they find the one at Hogwarts my own version will once again take complete control.

* * *

Even though Harry was still seeing Ginny every night in secret, he kept feeling devastated during the day while he worked with Ron and Hermione. Any time he was away from her for any amount of time he was worrying about her. Whether she was safe, whether she was feeling the same way about him, whether any other guys were trying to make moves on her. Every hour of the day something was on Harry's mind concerning Ginny. He tried not to let it bother him too much since he was supposed to be working on the horcruxes.

As the days moved by Harry and Ginny continued to train with Bellio every night with increased intensity every time. But as they continued to train, they continued to improve. Bellio still got lots of punches and kicks on them but they seemed to be having less effect as they began to get used to the pain and their bodies became much tougher.

The days turned into weeks and though they still continued to improve they still seemed to be having trouble tapping into their full potential that Bellio could see in them. About a month after Ginny returned to Hogwarts he began to have Harry and Ginny fight each other and he wanted them to go at full speed. But one look at their punches and kicks showed him that they were holding back and not using their full strength.

"It's important that you fight each other and not just me. Everyone has different fighting styles and if you only fight me you'll get used to fighting against the same style, so you must practice against different styles so that you can always be prepared for different opponents. But despite all the efforts and talks he gave them, they still seemed unwilling to fight each other at one hundred percent speed.

Bellio would at times jump in when they were supposed to be fighting and intervene with them making it a three way fight. This helped them be more aware of everyone and teach them not to focus on just one opponent since it was unlikely they would ever have only one enemy when it came to fighting Death Eaters.

Harry and Ginny had also started using a bow staff by transforming their wands like Bellio had showed them. Learning to handle the bow staff was much easier than Harry had expected, but Ginny seemed to be having more trouble controlling it. Harry felt that this was due to mainly her smaller size and smaller hands. So Bellio stepped up and made Ginny's bow staff about a foot shorter and a little bit thinner to lighten it and make it easier for her to handle. This proved to be quite effective as Ginny quickly caught up with Harry in skills with the staff. Both Harry and Ginny quickly realized that certain hits from their staffs were much more painful than punches or kicks. They used this to their advantage and were actually able to get some shots on Bellio, who seemed to be impressed at how they were beginning to discover things for themselves without him having to tell them.

Possibly the most curious thing was how Harry would sometimes seem to have tremendous power whenever Bellio got a hit on Ginny. Just like during the attack at King's Cross when Ginny got hit, Harry would feel a powerful emotion flow into him and feel like he had gained enormous power somehow. But he wasn't able to harness and control this strange power, for it always seemed to vanish just as quickly as it had come. Bellio seemed to notice that Harry had this power and was now determined to bring it out of him so that he could control it.

"Harry, whenever you feel that way, what is it that your thinking?" asked Bellio after he discovered it.

"Well, it seems to always happen whenever I see Ginny get hit," said Harry thinking hard. "All I can think of when I see it is how much I want to attack the one that did it."

Ginny was looking on interested at the thought of Harry having this power. Bellio seemed to be thinking of how it could be controlled.

"So when was the first time you remember feeling it," asked Bellio.

"It was when we were fighting at King's Cross," said Harry remembering the moment when the Death Eater punched Ginny in the face and he somehow summoned an enormous amount of power and sent the Death Eater flying through the air from a single punch. "I saw Ginny get hit and after I saw it all I wanted to do was attack the one that hit her, and then I felt it."

"Well it seems we know one way to trigger it, but the question is if we can find a way for you to tap into it at will," said Bellio. Ginny looked a little worried at this. The thought of being the trigger to Harry's true power when she gets hit wasn't very comforting. "If my assumption is correct, then this power of yours is greater than anything I've ever seen before. And if you can learn to control it and tap into it at will, you could gain incredible power that would make me look like a toddler."

Harry opened his palms and looked down at himself with amazement. If he could really learn to control this power, then ending the world of Voldemort looked even more possible than it ever had. But how would he learn to control something so powerful. He was still learning several things about fighting every day. And he still hadn't learned how to conjure the magic barrier yet. And on top of all that, none of it would be any use if they couldn't find the remaining horcruxes, although they had been making progress and he felt they were close to finding another one.

The weeks began to stretch into months but Harry still hadn't learned to control this hidden power. Several times it would appear when Ginny was hit and then vanish just as quickly as it had come. And he and Ginny still seemed to be having struggles fighting against each other at full speed. They had caught onto Bellio's fighting style and seemed to be an even match for him now, but their refusal to fight each other made it that much harder for Bellio to fully prepare them for everything that they could expect.

Keeping all their meetings between just the three of them was starting to become much harder. Several times when Harry and Ginny were sneaking out or back they were almost caught by fellow onlookers. Ron and Hermione seemed to be getting suspicious of Harry's developing muscles over the past few months and Ron had told Hermione that he seemed to disappear at night sometimes. He would tell her that sometimes at night he would wake up to use the loo and see Harry's bed empty, then when he returned a few minutes later he would be there sleeping as if he had been there all night. But as suspicious as they were starting to become, they were never able to figure out that Harry was leaving at night and never asked him anything about it.

The months continued to roll by into the Christmas holidays. Ginny came back to the Burrow for two weeks and everyone spent some much needed relaxing time, except at night for three certain people. They had no intentions of taking a break anytime soon. Several members of the Order came to Christmas dinner at the Burrow, everyone bringing their own trays so there would be enough for everyone and take some of the pressure off Molly to cook everything for so many people. But just as quick as the holidays started they were over and Ginny was back at Hogwarts and the others had resumed their missions within the Order.

As they all moved into January Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally had another breakthrough on another horcrux, discovering the possibility of one of his Death Eaters vaults. Getting into the vault and stealing the horcrux was perhaps the hardest thing they had done by far, and it wouldn't have been possible without the help of Griphook the goblin, who agreed to help them in exchange for the sword of Gryffindor.

Meanwhile as Harry had missed a couple nights of training with Ginny and Bellio while he went after the horcrux in Gringots, he quickly resumed with them after successfully getting it and destroying it. As they moved into late January they seemed to have finally caught onto Bellio's fighting style and were able to match his every move just as if they had been fighting with him for years. The only problem was they were still holding back when fighting each other. And even worse Harry still wasn't able to tap into and control his hidden powers, no matter how hard he tried or what he tried to do he just couldn't find it.

As they moved through the rest of January and February and into March the problems between Harry's power still had not been resolved. But finally Bellio seemed to decide that they were ready to learn his barrier, having mastered everything he threw at them during their training.

"Okay, the way you conjure the barrier is to have a complete picture of a bubble around you with about a fifty foot radius. The wand movement has to be a small and quick slash into the air and point it straight into the air, and while focusing on the barrier in your mind, scream the incantation.

And with a quick slash at the air with his wand Bellio pointed his wand strait into the air.

"BURRIANO," shouted Bellio. Instantly a silver clear light came from his wand and stopped directly above them about twenty feet in the air. It began to expand and close down towards the ground trapping them all inside it. It took about ten seconds for the barrier to touch the ground by the time it had begun to expand in the air, but it was now closed all around them leaving them nowhere to go. Even though Harry had seen it three times before now, actually watching it be created was much more fascinating to watch and he had never been more impressed. Ginny seemed to feel the same way.

"Amazing," she said as she looked all around and walked up to one of the edges.

She touched the edge of it with her open palm and felt how it held her in, refusing to let her out. She tapped it a couple times just to see how it felt, and she felt as if she was tapping a wall of solid steel.

"I know, it doesn't look as if it would be that strong, but it really is stronger than any wall you'll ever find in this world, completely impenetrable," said Bellio walking up beside her. "The only way to get through it is if you were the one to conjure it." And as he said this he walked right through the transparent barrier as if it wasn't even there. As he turned around and walked back in he waved his wand once and the barrier disappeared.

"So now do you want us to try it," asked Harry pulling his wand out, desperate to try it out himself. Ginny pulled her wand out in turn.

"Yes, I don't expect you to actually get it for several days seeing as this is highly difficult magic and took me a while to figure out myself. But everyone has to start somewhere and it's always at square one. We'll take this one step at a time until you master this just like you mastered fighting."

Over the next several days Harry and Ginny were spending more time trying to conjure the barrier than they would train. They still trained first when they got to the Shack for about an hour, then the rest of the time they were there they would work towards conjuring the barrier. But they seemed to be progressing in this a lot slower than they did with their fighting skills. It wasn't for a whole two weeks until Harry was able to get a little wisp to come from his wand. Ginny was able to finally do the same three days later.

The weeks continued to progress into April and Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally discovered the location of the next horcrux. At first they had a hard time believing Harry's theory, for he had suggested Hogwarts. But as he explained further it seemed to make more sense. But the question they hadn't answered was what the horcrux was, and also how they would be able to get there when the school was sure to have Death Eater teachers now and Harry would most definitely not be welcome there anymore. They spent hours on hours trying to come up with a plan on sneaking into the school and finding out more information on what the horcrux may be.

As they rolled into May they decided they could wait no longer. They would go to Hogwarts and have to pray for a miracle to happen. Amazingly when they apparated to Hogsmeade they discovered a secret way into the room of requirement thanks to the owner of the Hog's Head. There they met all their friends who had restarted Dumbledore's Army and all pledged their allegiance to Harry in his fight. Soon after arriving they had Luna take Harry with his invisibility cloak (which he had reclaimed from Ginny the night before during their training) to the Ravenclaw common room where he discovered the identity of the last horcrux.

Unfortunately as they made their way back they were discovered by Peeves who stole the cloak and a Death Eater teacher found them in the hallway. Throughout all the chaos a small battle started and all the noise attracted others throughout the castle. It wasn't long before all the Death Eater teachers had fled the castle, no doubt to call their master and prepare to attack the castle all together.

As Harry gathered with everyone in the Great Hall and prepared for battle he told Professor McGonagall about what he had to do in the room of requirement and that he would not be joining the battle until this important task was done.

As the battle began Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran back to the room and successfully found and destroyed the next horcrux while also encountering Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. But the job was done and they quickly rushed out to join the battle, but what they found when they returned to the Great Hall made them all stop in their tracks. All the students and teachers were being overwhelmed by the Death Eaters. They were outnumbered at least five to one and were quickly falling. But Harry noticed that none of the Death Eaters were killing anyone which confused him. Suddenly he noticed Ginny running towards him and she was pretty injured.

"Harry, there's too many of them, we need…help."

Harry knew that she meant help to mean Bellio, but he was nowhere around. Harry didn't see how that could be; he said he would always be around watching him. Was he perhaps outside not able to get inside? Had he perhaps been captured and killed while battling. But Harry didn't have time to think any further. For right at that moment the fighting had stopped, the Death Eaters had completely overwhelmed the student and teachers and were standing over the fallen, all of them looking at Harry. Silence filled the Great Hall for several seconds before someone finally spoke.

"Potter, you see now that you have nowhere to run," came a voice Harry had no trouble recognizing. Looking to the center of the room he saw Bellatrix Lestrange, standing over Professor McGonagall.

As he stared at her Ron and Hermione were also grabbed by two more Death Eaters and taken into the center of the room with all the other hostages, leaving him and Ginny alone. Harry scanned the room and saw Neville on his back, blood oozing down his head as he tried not to move too much. A little to the left of Neville was Luna Lovegood, holding her stomach as she gasped for breathe. Further down the Hall towards the wall were the two Creevey brothers, Colin trying to comfort his little brother Dennis as they were lying between two more Death Eaters. As Harry continued to scan the room he saw many more familiar faces of his friends lying on the ground surrounded by the evil Death Eaters in their black cloaks.

"There is a way to ensure that all these people live, the Dark Lord has promised they will all live if you turn yourself over to him," said Bellatrix. "The Dark Lord does not want to kill anyone of magical abilities, every drop of magical blood is a loss he does not desire, he only wants muggles dead. So surrender now and everyone here will live."

Harry didn't see any other choice, he couldn't let all these people die, and he'd never be able to live with himself for that. And it didn't seem to matter what he chose, he was going to die anyway no matter if he turned himself over or now. His only hope was that if somehow out of nowhere Bellio would appear and save them all again. But even if he did there were more Death Eaters here then there had been at both the Burrow and King's Cross combined. More than five times more than there had been at both. Ginny took his hand in hers and silently pleaded with him not to give in.

"Harry, don't do it, you can't let them win," Ginny pleaded and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him as tight as she could and letting tears fall from her eyes.

Harry quickly wrapped his own arms around her and hugged her back just as tightly, knowing this was most likely the last time he would ever get to touch her. They had failed in their plan, they would never get to put Bellio's plan into effect, it was all for nothing. He grabbed Ginny's face and crushed his lips against hers more passionately then he ever had he kissed her. Savoring every second as if he would die the second they separated. But Harry couldn't let all these people die for him, he would have to give himself up, at least they would all live. So with a tremendous effort he pulled his lips away from Ginny's and slowly began to walk away from her towards Bellatrix.

Ginny instantly broke down and began sobbing into the ground, flooding the floor with tears. Harry heard several people shout out "Don't do it Harry," and "Don't let them win", but Harry had made up his mind and he wasn't going to change it. It was over, Voldemort had won. The wizarding world would fall at his hands and the muggles would be killed off for the Death Eater's amusement, he'd never see Ron or Hermione again, the school would probably be turned into a school for the dark arts, families everywhere would suffer, the whole world would be left in darkness, and he'd never have a future with Ginny like he was hoping for. Everything was lost.

CRASH!

The Great Hall doors had burst open and every head in the room was now looking at what had caused the interruption. But before anyone could say or do anything a broom flew through the air grabbed Harry by the collar and pulled him up onto it. But the rider didn't stop there, just as quickly he flew to Ginny and grabbed her up too. And as quickly as he had flown in he flew out the door and into the night with Harry and Ginny safely on the broom with him. Harry looked back and saw several Death Eaters standing at the door staring up at them, already too far away to jinx. As they were finally flying strait Harry could see who had come to their rescue. It was Bellio.

"Bellio, where did you come from," said Harry in astonishment.

"I'll explain everything when we get to the Shack," said Bellio without looking away from where he was flying.

Once out of sight of the castle Bellio turned his broom in the opposite direction and flew low with the trees in the direction of the Shrieking Shack. As they approached it Bellio waved his wand and one of the old windows opened, allowing him to soar in and land in the middle of their training room.

Harry jumped off the broom and walked into a corner, resting his head against the wall, wanting to just burst into tears at what had just happened in the last few hours. Punching the wall as hard as he could he collapsed onto the floor and fell into a deep sleep.


End file.
